Ruth Maguire MSP has added her voice to renewed calls for the UK Government to scrap the Trident nuclear weapons programme following the Entry into Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) today.
The Treaty has been signed and ratified by 51 countries, which is enough to bring it legally into force meaning, from this month, countries that have signed will not co operate or assist any country in remaining nuclear-armed or nuclear-complicit. However, the UK government is not a signatory to it.
Earlier this week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon endorsed the Scottish Women’s Covenant on the TPNW, which also enters into force today as the first nuclear disarmament treaty to acknowledge that women are disproportionately affected by nuclear weapons.
The SNP MSP for Cunninghame South said: “It’s clear that the UK is out of touch with the vast majority of nations in the international community on the continued renewal of nuclear weapons.
“While Scotland cannot yet become a signatory to the Treaty of the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the SNP has consistently been a leading voice on nuclear disarmament, while the Tories and Labour support wasting billions of public money imposing new Trident nuclear weapons on the Clyde.
“The only way to guarantee an end to nuclear weapons here is for Scotland to be an independent nation. Until then, we will continue to oppose the presence of nuclear weapons in Scottish waters and support the global fight for nuclear disarmament.”
Ruth Maguire MSP 