THE thorny question of whether Scotland should seek to re-join Nato after independence will be debated by Alba members at their party conference later in the year.
The party’s general secretary Chris McEleny has put forward a motion to the conference, due to be held in three weeks’ time, which states Scotland should not reapply for membership of the military alliance after a Yes vote.
Instead, the motion argues, Scotland should establish a relationship with Nato and work with the alliance in UN-sanctioned operations and in non-nuclear defensive exercises.
The debate around Nato membership has been a tricky issue for the independence movement, with the SNP’s official position currently that Scotland would seek to re-join the alliance after exiting the Union.
But some, who object to the expansion of the alliance and its military interventions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, have said Scotland should remain outside the alliance post-independence.
The issue was debated at the SNP’s 2012 conference, with then-leader Alex Salmond – now the leader of Alba – successfully arguing for the party to change its stance to be in favour of Nato.
The Scottish Greens remain opposed to the military alliance, calling its first-strike nuclear policy "simply evil".
The motion more broadly sets out a vision for defence in an independent Scotland, arguing that the country should seek to have a standing armed forces numbering 15,000 regular and 5000 reserve personnel.
The Scottish Government should sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons after a Yes vote, the motion argues, and that negotiations on leaving the Union must include agreeing measures to “secure the speedy and safe removal of the nuclear fleet from Faslane”.
Weapons of mass destruction currently housed in at HM Naval Base Clyde would be replaced by “conventional naval forces” with nuclear bombs being removed from the country “by day one of Scotland becoming an independent nation”.
McEleny said: “We will again have a packed conference agenda that focuses on measures that can be undertaken immediately to improve the lives of people in Scotland, as well as setting out the party’s stance on matters post-independence.
“The motion to be debated on defence and security comes on the back of two expert panels the party held to discuss various issues.
“It will be up to party members to determine our position but our debate on defence and security will certainly be one not to be missed.”
Anti-bomb campaigners, some of whom are aligned with the SNP, have criticised the party’s current pro-Nato stance, arguing it would not be possible or desirable to join the alliance post-independence because the Scottish independence movement is overwhelmingly against nuclear weapons.
It is thought by some that Scotland would be denied entrance to the alliance if it took a firm stance against hosting the UK’s nuclear arsenal in exit negotiations.
The SNP have dismissed these arguments, highlighting that some Nato members do not have nuclear weapons of their own.
The party’s second annual conference will be held on October 15 and 16 at the Albert Halls in Stirling.
