Nukes for Now | How Scottish Independence could've stripped the UK of its Nuclear Weapons

Analyzing the Geopolitical Ramifications of Scottish Independence on the UK's Nuclear Arsenal.
The potential impacts of Scottish independence on the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons program don’t often get talked about. In this video, we explore why an independent Scotland could alter the UK’s defence policy and global security, and examine how the Scottish independence movement may reshape the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent.
Could Scotland’s quest for sovereignty and independence pave the way for nuclear disarmament?
Scottish independence would have bigger implications for world politics than most people realise. Many Scottish nationalists list nuclear proliferation as a major concern. The UK's nuclear capability comes from it's Trident nuclear submarines. Trident depends on two bases in Scotland, Naval Base Clyde and the Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) Coulport. The largest Scottish political party is the pro-independence Scottish National Party, or SNP. They have pledged that an independent Scotland would never allow nuclear weapons on its territory. If Scotland ever gains independence, what would that mean for the UK's Trident nuclear programme?
This story connects Scottish independence, the UK's nuclear arsenal, and a police investigation into the Scottish National Party called Operation Branchform.
00:00-00:35 - Scottish Independence & Nuclear Weapons Introduction
00:36-01:59 - The Scottish Independence Referendum
02:00-04:39 - A Brief History of the Nuclear Bomb
04:40-06:01 - Sponsor: Atlas VPN
06:02-07:46 - Britain's Trident Nuclear Submarines
07:47-10:02 - Scottish Nationalism & Nuclear Disarmament
10:03-12:12 - Would Scottish Independence cost the UK it's Nukes?
12:13-14:41 - Could the UK relocate the Trident Submarines?
14:42-15:34 - The War in Ukraine: Do we need Nukes?
15:35-18:02 - The Collapse of the Scottish Independence Campaign?
18:03-19:13 - Conclusion - Scottish Independence Implications on the UK's Nuclear Deterrent

Пікірлер: 94

  • @TieranFreedman
    @TieranFreedman7 ай бұрын

    CORRECTION: Hiroshima was bombed first, not Nagasaki.

  • @peterscraig1673
    @peterscraig16737 ай бұрын

    The Supreme Court, ,was against SCOTLANDS GOVERNMENT , NOT SCOTLANDS PEOPLE WHO ARE SOVEREIGN AND UNDER SCOTS LAWS, AND CAN MARCH OR VOTE FOR INDEPENDENCE WITHOUT BREAKING SCOTS LAW, ANY GOVERNMENT STANDING IN THEIR WAY WOULD BE BREAKING SCOTS LAWS OF SCOTLANDS RIGHTS AND ITS PEOPLE

  • @DderwenWyllt
    @DderwenWyllt7 ай бұрын

    As an unelected, unwanted and unsolicited representative for Wales, I'll happily allow them to build a submarine base over here, I got some land near the coast, that I'll happily lease out for £5 a month, it's a 99 year contract with the rent divided by 0.1 per annum. Though they should think quickly, I have other prospective tenants wanting to build a submarine base, a really shifty bloke with an obsession for swivel chairs and stroking random stray cats.

  • @AB-ee5tb

    @AB-ee5tb

    6 ай бұрын

    1 MILLION dollars

  • @balls9420
    @balls94207 ай бұрын

    You are doing a great job covering all these stories not being covered or talked about enough!

  • @TieranFreedman

    @TieranFreedman

    7 ай бұрын

    Thanks so much, glad you're enjoying them! As someone who hadn't travelled much within the UK, IOM, or Ireland before this, making this series was really eye-opening.

  • @balls9420

    @balls9420

    7 ай бұрын

    @@TieranFreedman Its definitely opened my eyes to things happening outside of Cornwall! That's not just, big news.

  • @dan79600
    @dan796007 ай бұрын

    A theoretical yes vote for Scottish independence would be followed by years of tedious negotiations to divide assets/ debts and agree a new relationship. I'm sure the UK and Scotland would arrive at a compromise and a reasonable timetable to move military equipment somewhere else in the UK. You can't play silly game politics with a nuclear arsenal.

  • @dan79600

    @dan79600

    7 ай бұрын

    @@duncmcinnes8569 A classic KZread comment if I've ever seen one, well done sir.

  • @DogeickBateman
    @DogeickBateman7 ай бұрын

    The biggest argument against disarmament types is that there are plenty of countries that do not want to disarm and to use their nukes as a bullying tool

  • @damnson666

    @damnson666

    4 ай бұрын

    Costa Rica became one of the most stable south american countries by disbanding its military, which stopped fighting against neighbour countries. Thought the main reason nukes are stored in scotland is that england doesn't have such a spot which is deep enough, and also the fact that most of land in england is owned by tories and, like windturbines, they dont want such base to ruin their precious countryside.

  • @DogeickBateman

    @DogeickBateman

    4 ай бұрын

    @@damnson666 Costa Rica is not in any region threatened by a belligerent power. Well, unless if Venezuela for some strange reason wants to control the tourist industry of Central America

  • @damnson666

    @damnson666

    4 ай бұрын

    @@DogeickBateman Well its different situation compared to uk-ireland, but costa rica was in civil war which spread to nearby countries to "protect our people" and it became more stable country than its neighbours after abolishing its army,

  • @OneTrueScotsman

    @OneTrueScotsman

    24 күн бұрын

    Well Scotland's not one of them. Most countries don't have nukes, and those that do, don't have them on the doorstep of their largest damn city, something imposed on them by their neighbouring country, who claims to be a friend.

  • @fleetingselfconfidence612
    @fleetingselfconfidence6127 ай бұрын

    i love despite him being left wing hes unbiased the conservative BBC could learn from you and then some

  • @TieranFreedman

    @TieranFreedman

    7 ай бұрын

    Thanks for the kind words, glad you're enjoying the videos 😁

  • @fleetingselfconfidence612

    @fleetingselfconfidence612

    7 ай бұрын

    @@TieranFreedman honestly im loving them. wish i discovered you sooner

  • @winterwolf9797

    @winterwolf9797

    5 ай бұрын

    You think the bbc is conservative? 😂

  • @fitzy3000
    @fitzy30007 ай бұрын

    Awesome videos dude.

  • @TieranFreedman

    @TieranFreedman

    6 ай бұрын

    Thanks so much, glad you're enjoying them!

  • @RonTodd-gb1eo
    @RonTodd-gb1eo7 ай бұрын

    The main requirement for a new site would be not too near to London.

  • @OneTrueScotsman

    @OneTrueScotsman

    24 күн бұрын

    Why? Us Scots are supposed to be accepting of it being near Glasgow. Our most populous city.

  • @michaellewellyn9080
    @michaellewellyn90807 ай бұрын

    missing your videos 😢

  • @TieranFreedman

    @TieranFreedman

    6 ай бұрын

    There's more on the way from this series (and I'm currently working on an entirely new one at the same time...)!

  • @rosshughes7977
    @rosshughes79777 ай бұрын

    Theres already options for britains nuclear subs scotland doesnt hold the only sub bases in the uk they just have the ones that are out the way of prying eyes as for the weapons themselves they will be moved to one of the many secret facilities already owned by the MOD in england and thats if they havent been dispearsed and stored in muptiple facilities already with the increase of nuclear tensions the MOD had plans in place for this already

  • @KizzieWiz

    @KizzieWiz

    7 ай бұрын

    Well take them now! Why don’t you? Too dangerous for England? Majority of Scots do not want them in Scotland!

  • @hayzee4429

    @hayzee4429

    7 ай бұрын

    Where.

  • @AB-ee5tb

    @AB-ee5tb

    6 ай бұрын

    @@hayzee4429😅

  • @LobertERee
    @LobertERee7 ай бұрын

    In hindsight, it's a good thing that South Africa disarmed. Scotland might want to disarm for the same reason.

  • @thevis5465
    @thevis54657 ай бұрын

    Why are local protests only an issue when it's in England? Why don't they care about the scottishprotests??

  • @FullaEels
    @FullaEels7 ай бұрын

    if we get our independence, a compromise could be leasing out the bases to england, for a sort of security fund. Though in the event of independence, i still see there being a lot of military cooperation on the island.

  • @franciscruickshank8794

    @franciscruickshank8794

    7 ай бұрын

    are you mad ?im from glasgow and that pathetic 4 subs. 3 of them in for maintenance regularly are 50km. from the city ? and i dont see any compromise ! ALBA GU BRATH

  • @OneTrueScotsman
    @OneTrueScotsman24 күн бұрын

    The movement and drive for independence, is far from over. And it won't be until we're out and sovereign. The support is as strong now as its ever been. And the support for the union has NEVER been lower. 46% on average in the last 12 months. A decline of 9 points since the 2014 ref.

  • @gsnmeyer
    @gsnmeyer5 ай бұрын

    You didnt mention that Glasgow is 52.4 miles to the west of Edinburgh as the crow flies this area is known as the central belt where 70% of Scotlands population live and work. An accident or indeed an attack would wipe most of them out and turn the central belt into a waste land for years. One of the reasons given for not moving the subs to Devonport was the population of Plymouth 264,700 . But 3.5 Million Scots are an acceptable loss ?

  • @Idahoguy10157
    @Idahoguy101575 ай бұрын

    Minor correction: Hiroshima was atomic bombed before Nagasaki

  • @derekneill
    @derekneill5 ай бұрын

    No the question is Is Westminster a nesesary evil

  • @johnscullion7685
    @johnscullion76857 ай бұрын

    Scotland yes we did not won't beexit 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

  • @derekneill
    @derekneill5 ай бұрын

    They will have 2 years to get them out

  • @dooley-ch
    @dooley-ch7 ай бұрын

    The UK is a great country for precedent and we have been here before.... At the turn of the last century the Royal naval base at Haulbowline in Ireland was an extremely important base. If you get out a map and examine them you will find many barracks and defence points along the coast of Cork which were there to defend a massive naval base. The harbour there is like a saucer made of solid granite and thus is very easy to defend against sub attack etc.... So as part of the Anglo Irish treaty the UK were allowed to retain this and several other ports for a period up until the bid 1930s when the ports were handed over to the Irish government. I would expect any dissolution of Great Britain will follow the precedents set in the dissolution of kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. And that includes things like sharing out the national debt, the military, the use of the currency, pension and social security obligations and so on.

  • @TieranFreedman

    @TieranFreedman

    7 ай бұрын

    Interesting points. It's just that if the SNP were the ones in power in this scenario, they might either refuse or extract big concessions from the UK government in return. Perhaps they could agree on a 20-year relocation period as a compromise. That being said, Scottish independence as a whole looks less likely than it did a year ago, at least in the near term.

  • @thevis5465

    @thevis5465

    7 ай бұрын

    @@TieranFreedman As a Scot, no it does not. Scotland is not a part of a larger country, the UK is a union of three countries. The breakup of this union is inevitable, it's just a question of whether irish reunification or Scottish independence occurs first.

  • @TieranFreedman

    @TieranFreedman

    7 ай бұрын

    ​@@thevis5465 I'm not disagreeing with that. I think Irish unification is drawing closer, and that support for an independent Scotland will increase if that happens first. But in the near-term, with the legal setbacks for the referendum and the challenges facing the SNP in the upcoming elections, Scottish independence isn't likely to happen in the near-term (and by that I mean within the next 1-2 election cycles, as we once thought it might).

  • @mmcc5846

    @mmcc5846

    7 ай бұрын

    ​@@TieranFreedmanthe SNP are not the independence movement the people on the street will decide

  • @mmcc5846

    @mmcc5846

    7 ай бұрын

    Dooley the UK not a country and it isn't great idiot

  • @derekneill
    @derekneill5 ай бұрын

    That would cause a war ten times worse that th Ireland troubles for Westminster

  • @davidmurphy9151
    @davidmurphy91516 ай бұрын

    Or just dissolve the program and spend the money on biscuits.

  • @JohnnyYounitas
    @JohnnyYounitas11 күн бұрын

    Once Scotland leaves the UK its game over for the loyalist hun in the north of Ireland

  • @DogeickBateman
    @DogeickBateman7 ай бұрын

    You mixed Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s dates when they dropped

  • @TieranFreedman

    @TieranFreedman

    7 ай бұрын

    Noted, have pinned a correction. Thanks!

  • @petermclelland278
    @petermclelland2787 ай бұрын

    If it's a deterant, give Ukraine some.

  • @markpirie1986
    @markpirie19862 ай бұрын

    😂SNP, SINN FEIN AND SO ON😂😅😂,

  • @psychopathmedia
    @psychopathmedia7 ай бұрын

    Free Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from English tyranny

  • @balls9420

    @balls9420

    7 ай бұрын

    You forgot one!

  • @LobertERee

    @LobertERee

    7 ай бұрын

    Nationalists have to control the media, education, and banking, or it's all for nothing. "Independence" is just foreign rule by proxy.

  • @glamandy5660

    @glamandy5660

    7 ай бұрын

    grow up

  • @balls9420

    @balls9420

    7 ай бұрын

    @@glamandy5660 grow up.

  • @glamandy5660

    @glamandy5660

    7 ай бұрын

    Very original, did it take you a long time to think of that one? Gowk. @@balls9420

  • @wiredfox3451
    @wiredfox34517 ай бұрын

    When can England get independence too?

  • @mmcc5846

    @mmcc5846

    7 ай бұрын

    Wired fox when can lying leeching thieving England get to fuck more like

  • @ScottishRoss27

    @ScottishRoss27

    7 ай бұрын

    Its dependent on stealing everyone elses resources

  • @jakethadley
    @jakethadley7 ай бұрын

    You got the order of Hiroshima and Nagasaki reversed - pretty big mistake to make on such an important topic. That aside, nice dive into the topic. Would be 'interesting' to watch it evolve were independence to happen, albeit somewhat worrying.

  • @TieranFreedman

    @TieranFreedman

    7 ай бұрын

    Thanks for pointing that out, slip of the tongue when voicing unfortunately. Will pin a correction.

  • @user-oe9jp1sp2f
    @user-oe9jp1sp2f7 ай бұрын

    no one cares about atlas VPN

  • @clarksson674
    @clarksson6747 ай бұрын

    Can you answer : What currency Scotland will use, who wiĺl underwrite pensions, mortgage, insurances, debts and borrowing ? Or what will replace GB military defence and associated investments and thousands of GB linked jobs ? Or how will Scotland manage the new customs and tariff border with England and the status of Scots living and working within the British Isles after leaving the CTA ?

  • @seastnanseastnan7765

    @seastnanseastnan7765

    7 ай бұрын

    A very simple answer for a very simple mind; it is in the form of a question for you; "HOW DO OTHER COUNTRIES DO IT?" There! That is your answer! Your questions have already been answered a thousand times in a thousand different websites and on a thousand different documents and by a million different progressive independence commentators. Maybe if you did the simplest bit of research you'd have had no need to posit your idiot question in the first place? I strongly suspect though that you are not at all interested in the answers as you so obviously are a pro-unionist troll posting the same idiot questions on every independence related website you can find.

  • @woofpet

    @woofpet

    7 ай бұрын

    @@seastnanseastnan7765exactly! Same nonsense again and again. They’re like a stuck record. The answers, simple though they are, are if no interest to then. The questions are merely to sow uncertainty. Too late - they got rumbled last time they tried that.

  • @Nicky86Min

    @Nicky86Min

    4 ай бұрын

    How does every other country manage it? I'll use croatia as an example, how did they manage after 1991? Legit question. I don't know the ins and outs of all these things, but I think well how does every other country manage yet scotland would be the only country on the planet who couldn't?

  • @clarksson674

    @clarksson674

    4 ай бұрын

    @NickE1986 NO other countries have a border with England or uses sterling or has GB military or GB shipping jobs ??

  • @Nicky86Min

    @Nicky86Min

    4 ай бұрын

    @@clarksson674 yeah I know that, but how couldn't this be rectified in the event of independence? Is use croatia as an example as they're a relatively new independent country, they're shared everything you mentioned there as GB with what would of been Yugolsavia. They look to me to be a relatively successful independent country.

  • @KizzyKismet1
    @KizzyKismet17 ай бұрын

    Scotland NO!!!