By Leah Gunn Barrett
You’ve got to hand it to the MOD. It has a knack for coming up with alliterative ‘killer’ names for its rust-bucket class of nuclear subs that have been stuck in port, mostly in Scotland, for over a year, polluting our waters.
The Royal Navy’s newest class of ‘hunter-killer’ subs, codenamed ‘Astute’, are anything but. HMS ‘Ambush’ hasn’t sailed for 2 years. HMS ‘Audacious’ is grounded in Devonport. HMS ‘Artful’ has been stranded at His Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde for 14 months along with HMS ‘Astute’. A crane to lift the subs from the water at Faslane hasn’t operated for over a year because the firm that manufactured the ropes went bust.
The only operational drydock in the UK is HMNB Devonport which is undergoing a £750 million upgrade by American defence contractor Babcock.
Meanwhile, all six of the UK’s Type 45 Destroyers – Dragon, Defender, Diamond, Duncan, Dauntless and Daring – are docked at Portsmouth and Birkenhead, where ‘defects,’ mainly overheating generators, are being repaired but won’t be completed until 2028.
Starmer has said his government will spend 2.5% of GDP on defence and up to £41 billion on the Dreadnought class of nuclear subs, although independent sources estimate the full cost of the UK nuclear weapons programme could reach £172 billion. (Naturally, Dreadnought will be based in Scotland, not England, given the risk of radioactive discharges and potential explosions.)
Even the MOD admits the programme will cost £118b over the next decade. But Starmer and Reeves can’t seem to find £1.3b to end the 2-child benefit cap or £1.4b to keep seniors from freezing this winter.
How much more abuse and incompetence at the hands of the failing UK will the Scottish People take before they call it quits on this union?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Posted a link to something similar on Calmac 54 thread.
All that naval hardware don’t provide lifeline services unlike Calmac, seems to be a bit of concocted meme these days even repeated by Calmac staff. You can understand why the media aren’t interested in reporting any of this when folk who can’t walk the length of themselves are stuck at largs, obviously half the UK capital ships stuck in port broken down just doesn’t compare.
Golfnut
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Westminster spend £50Billion on Defence (attack). Scotland pays £5Billion of it. £1Billion too much. Scotland does not have a Navy to patrol its shore. 180,000 Defence personnel. 10,000 based in Scotland. It should be 18,000 pro rata.
Greenham Common nuclear missile base closed in 1992. 30 minutes from London.
Dump the nuclear waste in the South. They want it. Instead of Scotland, or being flown around the world. Polaris dumped on Scotland illegally and secretly. 1960’s. McMillian insisted on it. Kennedy was not keen. Supposed to be based at Fort William. Instead dump 40 minutes from Glasgow Faslane. The missiles misfire when tested in the ocean. Picked up from the US. US spends $760Billion on Defence. 1/3 of all world spend. 360million pop.
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Great piece- but what can you say!
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“How much more abuse and incompetence at the hands of the failing UK will the Scottish People take before they call it quits on this union”?
Well you have to assume those people in Scotland still voting for parties against independence are unaware of all of the “abuse and incompetence” at the “hands of the failing UK” as the alternative is that they do know but think independence would be far far worse and that then is the real obstacle someone in the YES movement has to be able to overcome in order to change the minds of those still as yet undecided.
I’m thinking I may not see independence in my lifetime but hopefully my children will as the penny surely has to drop eventually for those of a different generation to mine.
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Can someone what actual pollution is being caused by these subs. Just curious.
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