Bravehearts Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon face a rebellion over NATO, as Salmond attempts to wear the mantle of a credible ‘war leader’

Dear All

There I was blogging on how the Scottish National Party is a disunited party and lo and behold 12 SNP MSPs are said to be possibly considering joining a campaign to reject NATO membership.

Didn't I say something about how some people in the SNP have no clue to defend a nation?

Yes, I did, George Laird right again as always and ahead of the curve.

For Braveheart Alex Salmond this is proof that he hasn’t united a country, a people or even his own party.

For 30 years the SNP has had a policy firmly against NATO much to the joy of Russia and CND who are working hard to disarm the West.

At Conference SNP activists will be asked to back a motion by the party's defence spokesman Angus Robertson to effectively end the ridiculous policy that has seen the SNP as being not relevant in Westminster politics.

Unfortunately, the policy change by Robertson doesn’t go far enough, with the carrot that an independent Scotland would "maintain Nato membership subject to an agreement that Scotland will not host nuclear weapons".

Tripe, this is the politics of the student debate, the politics of the community council, it is not international politics which the SNP struggle with on a daily basis.

They have spent so much time being inward looking that people don’t give them the time of day when a Westminster election comes.

The Rebels are said to be putting forward their rival amendment will also ask conference to resolve that the "SNP position will be that Scotland should not remain a member of Nato".

Much is said by the SNP about going 'forward’ but the reality of the rebels is that far from going forward they are going backwards.

It has been tabled by Jamie Hepburn, SNP MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilysth, who has described Nato as a "destabilising factor in the West's relationship with Russia".

Hepburn shows why the argument of a lack of talent in Holyrood is continually being made, the anti’s aren't visionaries; they are the type of people who would surrender Scotland to Russian incursion at the drop of a hat.

Another five SNP MSPs have also confirmed they will oppose Nato membership.

They are John Finnie, Dave Thompson, Jean Urquhart, Sandra White and John Wilson.

And some others are expected to come out.

In Glasgow SNP list MSP Bob Doris is said to be given the decision serious consideration, which if you know Bob Doris as I do, you would just laugh …… out loud.

A Scottish Conservative spokesman said:

"Alex Salmond has been opposed to Nato for three decades and his sudden support for membership has everything to do with the referendum."

I think many people would agree with that statement, when the SNP was unelectable, people like the anti NATO crew could be indulged, but the time for indulgencies have come to an end.

SNP-CND convener Gareth Finn, a member of the Nationalists' ruling executive committee, said:

"The overarching theme of the referendum campaign is a positive vision of what can be achieved when the people of Scotland reclaim their independence.

"The proposal to not only commit the SNP to Nato membership but also to lock the SNP in to a range of current Nato policies will undermine the appeal of what can be achieved with independence".

I have met Gareth Finn, he doesn’t strike me as someone very bright; in fact my impression was he seemed to be a not very bright malcontent. Despite presenting evidence to him he seems incapable of understanding it, not one of life’s great thinkers. On Twitter he describes himself as a Left wing Scottish republican nationalist which probably explains a lot about the massive chip on his shoulder.

I wonder if he has a Scottish flag and a white flag at home?

It will be funny if NATO membership is pushed through so that people like Finn who is a member of Russian backed CND get the smile wiped off their face.

An SNP spokesman said:

"SNP members have the democratic opportunity to make their views on Nato membership clear at conference, where we expect to have an excellent debate on defence policy, including reaffirming the party's strong anti-nuclear stance."

SNP debates aren’t excellent, I have been to them; they don’t even rate as good uni debates.

So, the SNP is set to stage a debate at Conference when the politics of the primary school playground is to be tackled by the leadership.

Out goes the tripe, and in comes a modern policy, 30 years too late and based on reality with a heavy dose of opportunism.

If the party wasn't holding a referendum then there would be no movement by the SNP leadership, the malcontents would 'win the day'.

James Kelly, Labour chief whip at Holyrood, said:

"Normally, Alex Salmond can command blind allegiance from his followers on the back benches. But the rank and file are becoming increasingly emboldened in criticising his strategy."

In fostering a party where grudge, grievance and malcontent have been allowed to breed under his and Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership, Alex Salmond is reaping the ‘rewards’.

Fixing the SNP’s NATO problem isn’t the winning card in the independence struggle, it is a marker on the road; next the nuclear submarine base at Faslane must be kept and supported by the leadership.

I am pro NATO and pro retention of Faslane, there is serious responsibilities in being a member of NATO, and the sooner the SNP membership accept them the better.

It is time to end the politics of grudge, grievance and malcontent in the Scottish National Party, and ‘we are where we are’ because of the leadership tolerating this over many years.

Which is why so few people are willing to be activists in the Scottish National Party.

No member of the SNP should be allowed to be a member of CND.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University