Letter: The canny Scots should take all of these advantages of staying a member of the UK into account

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

I pose the question following national media news that Trident, our nuclear deterrent, might be moved to Plymouth or overseas if Scotland becomes independent.

The Royal Navy’s base at Faslane on the west coast of Scotland is home to the UK’s Trident missile nuclear submarines.

While the Ministry of Defence has denied plans to move the submarines, the Scottish government led by Nicola Sturgeon has said that it is committed to the ‘safe and complete withdrawal of Trident from Scotland’.

In the unlikely event of any overseas power wishing to wage war on Scotland, is she prepared to fight alone rather than having the UK’s Trident as a shield?

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has long been an advocate of removing the UK’s nuclear deterrent from its territory. If the Scots decide in their wisdom that they are better off going alone in their independence from the UK, this may well come to pass.

Ms Sturgeon appears to have no loyalty to the UK as a whole for which the deterrent is intended as a protection against any future attack upon all of us – including Scotland.

Having recently entered into a power sharing deal with the Scottish Green Party, she insists that she has an ‘undeniable’ mandate for a second independence referendum, since the two parties hold 72 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament.

It is to be hoped that Scotland again votes to remain within the UK if a second referendum takes place.

Scots have a reputation for being a ‘canny’ people, I respectfully suggest that they would be cutting off their nose to spite their face if they decided to leave.

The rest of the UK is Scotland’s largest trading partner by far, exports and imports are close to 60 per cent of Scottish GDP and the majority of this trade is with their close neighbours.

Under SNP rule the Scottish economy is currently very precarious with a massive financial deficit for which England annually subsidises every Scottish man, woman and child to the tune of £2,000.

If Ms Sturgeon gains her wish for independence this subsidy will immediately cease and this would result in a huge outflow of commerce, industry and investment.

North Sea oil reserves will not last forever and when the income from this source ceases Scotland will be in an even worse financial position than it is now.

The canny Scots should take all of these advantages of staying a member of the UK into account if and when a second referendum takes place.