THE Scottish Greens have urged the UK Government to scrap nuclear weapons and invest in tackling poverty and the climate crisis on the anniversary of the first atomic bomb dropped on a Japanese city.
Co-leader of the party, Patrick Harvie, has called for a commitment to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on the 79th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.
Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed during the Second World War where an estimated 200,000 people were believed to have been killed as both cities were almost completely destroyed.
Harvie has urged Keri Starmer to commit to scraping “morally obscene” nuclear weapons, which are based in Scotland, and invest arms funding into tackling social and environmental issues.
He said: “The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were among the most appalling and inhumane atrocities ever committed. There can never be any justification for such indiscriminate mass killing or the long and brutal legacy that they left behind.
“If we are to ensure that we never see that kind of devastation again then we urgently need to eliminate nuclear stockpiles.
“Yet, it is almost 80 years later and there are far more nuclear warheads in the world than there were then, and the ones we have today, including here in Scotland, are even more powerful. It is a moral obscenity.”
According to the Arms Control Association, there are an estimated 12,100 nuclear warheads across the world.
It is also estimated that the UK has around 225 warheads, which are mostly located on Trident submarines at HM Naval Base Clyde in Faslane, while a reserve of nuclear bombs is also stored at Coulport on Loch Long.
Figures by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) revealed earlier this year that the UK Government spent £6.5 billion on nuclear weapons in the 2022/23 financial year.
Harvie added: “Historically, Labour and Tory governments have been equally committed to pouring huge sums of money into these grotesque Cold War relics.
“Labour says they cannot afford to scrap the cruel child benefit cap or keep the Winter Fuel Allowance for millions of pensioners, but they have a bottomless money pit for nuclear weapons.
“The eye-watering sums that are being poured into Trident would be far better spent lifting children and families out of poverty and tackling the climate crisis, which is the greatest security threat we face.
“But even if Trident had no cost implications, it would still be totally immoral to keep it. The best thing that this generation of politicians can do to honour the memory of those that were killed and protect the lives of future generations is to ensure that we finally abolish nuclear weapons for good.
“I truly hope that we soon see the day when Scotland can disarm our waters and join the many other nations around the world who have already signed the nuclear weapon ban.”
Hiroshima Day serves as a reminder of the devastating impact of nuclear weapons and is used as a time to reflect on the humanitarian consequences caused by the bombs as well as the lives lost.
