NATO debate in the Scottish National Party on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The NATO debate in the Scottish National Party refers to a historical argument within the Scottish National Party (SNP) as to whether or not an
At the party's Autumn conference in
. The party leadership, including Salmond, backed the pro-NATO side. A number of MSPs opposed the policy change. Grassroots activists also took part in the debate, with high-profile figures like independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
should be a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
(NATO). The party was opposed to NATO membership from the 1980s until its 2012 conference.
Background
Members of the SNP have long been divided on the party's long-standing opposition to NATO membership, which began in the early 1980s. Gordon Wilson tried to persuade the party to adopt a pro-NATO stance in 1983, but failed. The first signs of a policy change appeared in April 2012, when it emerged the party's policy-making national council would be considering their position at its June meeting. AUniversity of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...
poll carried out in May found that 52% of SNP members surveyed wanted to remain in NATO, and it was reported in June that the SNP leadership had decided to change their position following talks with Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
and Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, which are full NATO members.
Afterwards, two SNP MPs Angus Robertson and Angus MacNeil
Angus Brendan MacNeil ( gd, Aonghas Brianan MacNèill; born 21 July 1970) is the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament (MP) for covering the Outer Hebrides.
Background
MacNeil was educated at Castlebay Secondary School on the isla ...
sought to formalise this position by submitting a motion to the SNP conference in October 2012 which included the line: "An SNP Government will maintain NATO membership subject to an agreement that Scotland will not host nuclear weapons and NATO continues to respect the right of members to only take part in UN sanctioned operations."
By August, SNP leader Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
faced rebellion from party MSPs. The party had already begun advising MSPs to avoid speaking about NATO in public, but a number went on to send amendments to conference backing continued NATO opposition.
2012 conference debate
At the party's Autumn conference in Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
on 19 October 2012, the SNP hosted an open debate on their policy towards NATO. Much of the debate was broadcast live on TV by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Natalie McGarry
Natalie McGarry (born 7 September 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow East from 2015 to 2017. She was elected as a Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate in the 2015 general election b ...
arguing against a policy change.
After the debate, SNP members voted 426–332 to overturn their policy of opposition to NATO.
Aftermath
MSPsJohn Finnie
John Bradford Finnie (born 31 December 1956) is a Scottish Greens politician. He was the Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 2016 up until 2021, having previously sat as a Scottish National P ...
and Jean Urquhart immediately resigned from the SNP over the policy change. Fellow MSP John Wilson was initially persuaded to keep the party whip, but resigned after the subsequent Scottish independence referendum defeat.
The youth wing
A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous, or independently allied front of a larger organization (usually a political party but occasionally another type of organization) that is formed in order to rally support for that organization from members ...
of the SNP, Young Scots for Independence (YSI), opposed the change in party policy "on the basis that ATOis a nuclear alliance". This opposition was reaffirmed in 2016. In 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, the YSI reversed its position and gave its "full support" for an independent Scotland joining NATO.
See also
* Withdrawal from NATOReferences
{{Reflist, 2 Anti-militarism in Europe Opposition to NATO Political debates Scottish National Party United Kingdom and NATO