Defence and NATO
The case for independence
How it works now
Defence is a reserved matter.3 The UK's Trident nuclear submarines are based at HM Naval Base Clyde (Faslane).
The challenges
- NATO members have committed to spending 5% of GDP on defence and security by 2035. The Scottish Government has not published a spending figure.21
- Pamela Nash of Scotland in Union said that claiming a separate Scotland would “join the nuclear alliance Nato and then move nuclear weapons a few hundred miles south … shows they don't understand geopolitics”.4
- The UK Government set out its analysis in “Scotland analysis: Defence” (28 February 2014).5
How Scotland would meet them
- Apply to join NATO straight after independence.1
- Remove nuclear weapons from Scotland “as safely and quickly as possible”.1
- Set up an army, navy and air force run from a single headquarters, and a Scottish Security and Intelligence Agency.1
Source: Independence: what you need to know (updated Oct 2025)
Still to be settled
How would an independent Scotland meet NATO's 5% commitment?
The Scottish Government's guide gives no spending figure.1
Would NATO members accept a member that wants nuclear weapons removed?
This has not been settled, and we have not yet found reliable published analysis. We will add sourced material when it becomes available.
Where would Trident go, and how long would removal take?
This has not been settled, and we have not yet found reliable published analysis. We will add sourced material when it becomes available.
Sources
- Scottish Government, Independence: what you need to know — Defence and Security, updated 8 October 2025.
- NATO, Defence investment and NATO’s 5% commitment.
- Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5 (Reserved matters).
- Pamela Nash (Scotland in Union), quoted by GB News, responding to the Scottish Government’s March 2024 paper on Scotland’s place in the world.
- UK Government, Scotland analysis (collection of papers), 2013–14.