The SNP has made a fresh call for the Tory government to get rid of the Trident nuclear deterrent and stop its replacement, after new analysis highlighted that the estimated yearly cost to Scotland - £180 million per year -  would be equivalent to training almost 3,000 new public sector workers in Scotland.
 
New analysis by the SNP has revealed that the yearly cost of renewing and maintaining the nuclear weapons based in Scotland would be enough to train the equivalent of almost 750 new nurses, 370 police officers, 1500 teachers, and 235 doctors.
 
The SNP has consistently opposed the wasteful and dangerous renewal of Trident nuclear weapons, which could cost up to £200 billion over their lifetime. At Westminster, Labour and the Tories are officially in favour of the unjustifiable Trident plans. 
 
Bill Kidd MSP, co-president of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) group in Scotland, said:
 
“The millions of pounds in taxpayer money that is being wasted by Westminster could go towards making sure our public services come first; building hospitals, training public sector workers, improving schools, and lifting people out of Tory-inflicted poverty.
 
“Instead of investing in our vital services, the Scottish Government is being forced to mitigate for cuts, wasted funds, and unprecedented damage caused to our economy by the Tories, and Labour’s sorry lack of opposition.
 
“We’ve been warned that Trident renewal could cost a staggering £200 billion over its lifetime. The UK Parliament's single-minded nuclear weapons obsession and the amount of money being wasted on these immoral and destructive weapons highlights the democratic deficit that Scotland faces under Westminster control.
 
“The SNP has always been clear on the fact that we want to see a nuclear weapons-free Scotland, so that we can improve the lives of people across Scotland without threatening the lives of others. As do the majority of MSPs, civic society, religious groups and people in Scotland. It’s time Westminster stopped ignoring that.”