DURING the Cold War councils had to plan for the aftermath of nuclear attack. We might think of local government as the least glamorous branch of politics, but ideological battles raged in the town halls about Britain’s defence policy, and rebellions broke out as authorities defied Westminster’s instruction that they prepare their population for nuclear war.

PLANNING FOR THE END OF THE WORLD

CIVIL defence was crucial during the Second World War, with countless lives saved by air raid wardens, firefighters and rescue teams. This notion was carried into the Cold War with propaganda suggesting we could dig ourselves out of the rubble of an “atomic war”, but in the 1950s the hydrogen bomb arrived, bringing the terrible realisation that there can be no defence against such a weapon. So the idea of civil defence changed, shifting from rescue towards the provision of shelter, food and medical care for the survivors.

Each council had to draw up plans showing how they would help their population after a nuclear war. They would identify buildings to be used as Emergency Feeding Centres, and arrange distribution of food to those venues from the UK’s emergency stockpiles. That would require transport routes so they would also need to organise squads to clear the roads of debris.

If working vehicles were in short supply, they could requisition yours and also your bedding, crockery, and even the house itself should you leave it unoccupied. Compulsory billeting was also planned, where you would be made to accommodate homeless families if your house was still standing. Even more disturbing was the issue of body disposal, with one council in Essex suggesting their public parks be used as mass grave sites.

These grim plans would be administered from a secure local headquarters, some of which were in the basements of council buildings, but others built underground shelters or adapted old Second World War bunkers, such as Highland Council’s emergency centre at Raigmore whose air filtration system could be powered by bicycles if the generator failed.

REBELLION

MANY councils refused to participate. In the 1980s some left-wing Labour authorities argued civil defence made nuclear war more likely because it gave the impression that it was survivable, with Lambeth Council stating: “We have no intention of kidding people that they can survive a nuclear holocaust”. Others said contributing a plan would make them complicit in British defence policy and Ken Livingstone’s GLC declared it to be “a form of conscription.”

A divide opened between left-wing local authorities and the Thatcher government, with many refusing to co-operate in planning and others actively campaigning against the government by giving grants to local disarmament groups, sending their staff to peace conferences, and declaring themselves “Nuclear-Free Zones”.

The government responded to the rebellion by introducing an “all-hazards approach”, saying civil defence plans would now cover peace-time emergencies, and rebranding it as “civil protection”. This outmanoeuvred the left-wing protesters as they could have no ethical objection to planning for floods or fires.

END OF THE COLD WAR

THE threat of nuclear war receded in the 1990s as did the idea of civil defence which was superseded by “emergency planning”, with The Civil Contingencies Act 2014 requiring councils to plan for things like terrorism, pandemics, industrial accidents and severe weather, and with each region compiling a community risk register.

However, scraps of old wartime advice remain. For example, each council has plans to evacuate their cities in cases of dire emergency. Should you find yourself trapped during evacuation, Glasgow City Council provide signs to place in your window summoning help.

And, in a chilling echo of the 1980s Protect and Survive booklet, people are advised to have a box ready containing essential medicines, paperwork, First Aid kit and a battery-powered radio – with South Lanarkshire Council also recommending the inclusion of a penknife and whistle.

Some rural councils also suggest acquiring a stock of tinned food and a trusty tin opener. While that applies to surviving severe weather emergencies rather than a nuclear attack, the parallels with the old 1980s advice is obvious.

NUCLEAR INCIDENTS

SCOTLAND has nuclear reactors and Trident submarines on her territory so the threat of a radiation incident exists.

To prepare for this, all councils with a nuclear site are required, under the Radiation Emergency Preparedness and Public Information Rules (REPPIR), to prepare an “off-site emergency plan”.

Argyll and Bute Council is home to the Clyde Naval Base and its berths at Faslane, Coulport and Loch Goil. They have an 88-page plan for coping with a radiation incident but the section on protecting the public can be distilled into three main points: potassium iodate pills will be issued; people will be advised to stay at home with doors and windows closed and, thirdly, evacuation will be implemented if necessary. There follows the particularly ominous statement that the “period of evacuation may be prolonged.”

CONCLUSION

THE Cold War is over but threats, whether from terrorism, disease, flood or radiation, still exist. As you shelter from the disaster, and politicians debate a response from the safety of their bunker, it is the local councillors who will be finding you a bed, a bandage and a tin opener.