Latest Press Releases
| SNP COMMENT ON EXPECTED RAF AND ARMY REDUNDANCIES |
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| Wednesday, 31 August 2011 00:00 |
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CONVENTIONAL JOBS CUT AS MoD FIND BILLIONS FOR TRIDENT
Speaking ahead of the expected announcement that up to 2,000 RAF and
Army personnel will be made redundant tomorrow (Thursday) the SNP said
the cuts were shameful at a time when personnel were supporting
operations in Libya and Afghanistan and while the UK Government
continued to find billions for the renewal of Trident.
Mr Robertson said:
“Such cuts will be shameful at a time when personnel are supporting
operations in Libya and Afghanistan. Further cuts to our forces come
on top of the 10,500 defence job losses and £5.6billion underspend
Scotland has been hit with over the last decade from Westminster.
“The UK government has its priorities all wrong when our conventional,
front-line forces face redundancy, while the Trident nuclear weapons
system is treated like some sacred cow.
"People in Scotland will be appalled that whilst the Westminster
government is forging ahead with cuts to basing and personnel they can
find the money for a nuclear weapons system that offers little defence
in the 21st century.
“Majority Scottish opinion, our churches, the Scottish Trade Union
Congress and Civic Society, all oppose Trident, yet the UK Government
wants to use Scottish tax-payers money to pay for these weapons of
mass destruction while cutting conventional defence.
“Any way you look at it - on moral, financial, or defence grounds -
renewal of Trident is completely untenable in the face of these
redundancies. A normal country with the power to decide its own
defence and security policy would never be pushed into this crazy
situation. Scotland must have independence to determine its own
priorities, rather than have somebody else's imposed on it.”
CONVENTIONAL JOBS CUT AS MoD FIND BILLIONS FOR TRIDENT
Speaking ahead of the expected announcement that up to 2,000 RAF and Army personnel will be made redundant tomorrow (Thursday) the SNP said the cuts were shameful at a time when personnel were supporting operations in Libya and Afghanistan and while the UK Government
continued to find billions for the renewal of Trident.
Mr Robertson said:
“Such cuts will be shameful at a time when personnel are supporting operations in Libya and Afghanistan. Further cuts to our forces come on top of the 10,500 defence job losses and £5.6billion underspend Scotland has been hit with over the last decade from Westminster.
“The UK government has its priorities all wrong when our conventional, front-line forces face redundancy, while the Trident nuclear weapons system is treated like some sacred cow.
"People in Scotland will be appalled that whilst the Westminster government is forging ahead with cuts to basing and personnel they can find the money for a nuclear weapons system that offers little defence in the 21st century.
“Majority Scottish opinion, our churches, the Scottish Trade Union Congress and Civic Society, all oppose Trident, yet the UK Government wants to use Scottish tax-payers money to pay for these weapons of mass destruction while cutting conventional defence.
“Any way you look at it - on moral, financial, or defence grounds - renewal of Trident is completely untenable in the face of these redundancies. A normal country with the power to decide its own defence and security policy would never be pushed into this crazy situation. Scotland must have independence to determine its own priorities, rather than have somebody else's imposed on it.”
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