UNLESS the SNP manifesto guarantees removal of Trident and its weapons from Scotland within the first year of an independent Scotland, why should we vote for them?

There’s no independence if we’re at the mercy of Westminster and the USA, who between them control Trident. No independent government could hold its head high as long as other nations hold its people under threat of annihilation whether by intention or accident.

The Scottish Government’s own paper “Scotland referendum 2014: the impact of independence on Trident” shows they understand well the position we are in. The four Trident subs are simply the launch platforms. The delivery system, the ballistic missiles, are maintained and stored in Kings Bay, Georgia, USA (as of 2014). The warheads are designed, built and manufactured at Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire.

So, the UK Government simply needs an alternative base for the subs. Aldermaston could be used to store the weapons they build. This is their problem, not ours.

We need to include the costs of the clean-up operation in our negotiations. Since the Scottish Government has covered so much in its publication, I’m convinced they’ll already have an estimate for the clean-up cost.

Roy Pedersen says (Letters, The National, August 6) the Trident removal is not an immediate vote-winner. Perhaps not, but it has its stance alongside other visions for our new constitution guaranteeing housing, education, health and social care, an income which allows people to do more than simply survive, equality of opportunity and so on.

Looked on as a part of our vision for a fairer, more equitable society, the removal of weapons which could destroy our whole country is surely integral. It’s a bit like salvation.

Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. We must act now.

Catriona Grigg

Embo