SNP to vote on NATO policy

19 July 2012

Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond is looking to end his party's opposition to NATO membership for an independent Scotland, it has been announced.

Salmond will vote in favour of a new resolution at the party's October conference calling on Scotland to remain in NATO should Scots vote to leave the United Kingdom in a 2014 referendum.

The resolution calls for the SNP to seek to maintain NATO membership post-independence while retaining its commitment to remove the UK's nuclear weapons from Faslane.

Scotland's agreement with NATO would depend on its right to only participate in UN-sanctioned operations.

"In the absence of such an agreement, Scotland will work with NATO as a member of the Partnership for Peace programme," the resolution says.

At a press conference in Edinburgh, Salmond said: "Times change. Circumstances change. The resolution sets out a very carefully positioned statement which shows a willingness to cooperate with our friends and allies but makes clear that the non-nuclear position of the SNP is paramount."

SNP MP Angus Robertson, the party's leader in Westminster, said the motion would be the "first significant defence policy update in ten years" and that it prepared Scotland for "better defence decision-making".

Some SNP politicians are said to be considering rejecting the move, as NATO opposition has been party policy for many years.

"These proposals will deliver an increase of service personnel in Scotland, restore and protect Scottish units and bases as well as address significant UK capability gaps," said Robertson.

"With agreement on the withdrawal of Trident and retaining the important role of the UN, Scotland can continue working with neighbours and allies within NATO."