‘Trident No More’: Demonstrations planned across Scotland on 16 July

12/07/2016
Alice Muir

  MPs will vote this year on whether or not to replace Trident, the UK’s nuclear weapons system.

ANTI-TRIDENT demonstrations have been planned across Scotland on Saturday 16 July in response to the announcement by the UK prime minister that a vote on the renewal of the UK’s Trident system will be held in July.

Demonstrations will take place in towns and cities across Scotland on Saturday 16 July from 12 noon. Despite the short notice, protests have already been arranged for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, East Kilbride, Dundee, Stirling, Ayr, Biggar, Largs and Wick and others are flooding in. The Proclaimers have allowed their song ‘Linwood No More’ (dubbed ‘Trident No More’) to be used as the leading song of the campaign. Iconic independence artist Stewart Bremner has also captured the campaigners’ aspirations with a powerful graphic.

Protester Jane Tallents said: “People across Scotland will be braced for yet another decision by Westminster politicians to be imposed on us. But it must be challenged and not swept away from public scrutiny or media attention. We won’t be silenced.”
 
Campaig group CND has also planned a mass lobby of MPs at Westminster this coming Wednesday, 13 July, along with 20 national organisations.

Campaign co-ordinator for Scottish CND, John Ainsley, told CommonSpace: “The clearly expressed will of the Scottish people through the elected MPs and MSPs shows that we are opposed to having nuclear weapons for the next 50 years.

“The main purpose of us lobbying MPs at Westminster on Wednesday is to show support for Scottish MPs who wish to scrap trident.”

Pleas from people in every constituency in Scotland will be brought forward to Scottish MPs, not only to ask them to vote against renewal (57 of the 59 have already said they will) but also to demand that the UK abandons its boycott of the UN working group on nuclear disarmament negotiations and to work with other states for a nuclear weapons ban.

Campaigner David Mackenzie said: “On the face of it the UK Government will win Commons support for their intention to renew Trident. Yet a block of the SNP, the Greens, Lib Dems and Labour MPs could seek for a delay to the decision, given the current political chaos.
 
“But let’s be clear – this is not about some strategic abstraction. If you vote for renewal you are indicating your readiness to kill millions of people, to cause hideous suffering to many more and to risk triggering a global climate catastrophe. Scottish independence is the most likely route to disarming the UK but this horrific intention must be challenged.”
 
A list of confirmed venues for Saturday’s demonstration can be found on the campaign website.
 
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