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?
The Scottish Government points to Finland, which joined NATO in April 2023 without hosting nuclear weapons, as evidence that hosting them is not a precondition for membership.6 NATO itself describes nuclear weapons as “the foundation of the alliance's collective security.”6 Experts say the bigger obstacle is not NATO policy but the UK's consent: Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute said in 2022 that “if the UK says no then that would be the end of it,” and that seeking removal on a fast timetable risked a UK veto of Scottish membership.7 In 2024 he said a forced or rushed denuclearisation could endanger both NATO and EU membership prospects.8
Where would Trident go, and how long would removal take?
No alternative site has been identified or agreed. Professor Malcolm Chalmers of RUSI said in 2022 that the rest of the UK could “probably construct a new nuclear base” given enough time, but that it would take “a decade or more,” and in 2024 put the time to build new facilities in England at “at least a decade.”78 He warned against a unilateral or rushed removal, saying “I cannot imagine amicable divorce which involves the forcible denuclearisation of the UK.”8 The Scottish Government's position is that nuclear weapons should be removed “as safely and quickly as possible,” without naming a date or a destination; in 2024 the Scottish Government's external affairs secretary, Angus Robertson, said where Trident would relocate to was “how the UK government will decide on its priorities after Scotland becomes a sovereign state.”16
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.
- Alistair Grant, The Scotsman, Analysis: SNP's defence plans in an independent Scotland leave many questions unanswered, 4 March 2024.
- Professor Malcolm Chalmers (RUSI), quoted by The Herald on Sunday, “Indy Scotland would have to keep Trident for 10 years to get Nato membership”, 22 May 2022.
- Professor Malcolm Chalmers (RUSI), quoted by Neil Pooran, The Herald on Sunday, Armed forces of Scotland would still have to rely on the UK after independence, says defence expert, 17 March 2024.