Beyond Faslane

What might Scotland look like without Trident on the Clyde? I was chairing this part of Alex Salmond's National Conversation at the Oran Mor in Glasgow Monday, but to be honest I had no idea what to expect. Like many of the folk present, I've been anti Trident for years. But I've never been in an"official" environment where that was taken as read. Perhaps it's my BBC training, but it seemed odd to be focusing on just one side. Four hours later, though, we'd gone through every imaginable "side" of the nuclear debate -- except that well rehearsed status quo. Should Faslane remain a naval base post Trident? What about the non-Trident submarines based there? Local councillors want to keep a naval base but some pacifists want the MOD out of the Clyde altogether. Could tourism fill the jobs gap, or could a highly trained work force attract some kind of construction industry -- like renewable energy turbine manufacture? I'm sure the Arnish yard in Lewis (amongst others) would be mildly peeved to see"their" work waltzing south. But perhaps there is enough work to go round. Should "anti-Trident" planning authorities throw spanners in the works of Westminster's work to renew Trident? Is it sufficient to invoke public opinion polls and anti-Trident Holyrood votes when the Commons voted solidly to go ahead with a new generation of Trident missiles? And what are the chances for a new bill at Holyrood that seeks to argue Trident is a weapon of mass destruction and a breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty? It's amazing. As soon as the dull business of cliché is pushed aside there's still a world of argument over Trident.                                                                                                                                                             Bruce Crawford (the SNP Minister who promised this summit during a June debate on nuclear weapons) and John Mayer the lawyer who drafted the Holyrood bill look mightily relieved at the end!