O'Neill, Leonna

O'Neill, Leonna

Leonna O'Neill

5 April 2013News

Last week a public poll found that four out of five Scots want to see the Trident nuclear weapons system removed from Scotland. It is hardly surprising that support for the Scrap Trident weekend of protest and action on 13-15 April is mounting at a phenomenal rate.

A vigil on The Mound, Edinburgh Photo: Stop Trident

The event has been called by a wide coalition of groups active against nuclear weapons and NATO, and pro-independence campaigns, including Scottish CND, Trident Ploughshares, Stop the War Coalition, Faslane Peace Camp, the Scottish Green Party and the Radical Independence Campaign. In recent weeks, many more have added their names to the list of supporters, with both the Scottish Trade Unions Council and the…

5 February 2013Comment

On 15 April, hundreds (maybe thousands!) will descend on the Faslane naval base, home to Trident, in a mass display of nonviolent direct action.

On this day, the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, our intention is to use our bodies to peacefully halt the daily business of preparing for nuclear war. To shut down the UK’s most expensive military spending operation!

Our hope is that this will be the beginning of a new wave of anti-Trident activism in Scotland, a new wave that will see new faces hold hands and lay down on the road with those who’ve been doing this for decades. A new wave that we hope will bring…

17 October 2012News

A Faslane Peace Camper explores the possibilities for a nuclear-free and independent Scotland.

Last week I received an email from a friend in England who seemed amazed that independence issues like the forced removal of Trident and NATO membership were getting quite radical coverage in the Scottish media. Their surprise was framed in a way that suggested few people south of the border are fully aware of the scale of the Scottish independence debate and the potential it has to force nuclear disarmament on the UK.

There is no doubt that independence is a subversive demand that…

16 October 2012News

In an independent Scotland, nuclear weapons will be ruled illegal by the constitution!

Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond (of the Scottish Nationalist Party, SNP) has announced that if Scots vote for independence in the 2014 referendum, the nation's new constitution would explicitly outlaw nuclear weapons.

The proposal was announced on 7 October, a day after the pro-independence Scottish Green…

25 September 2012News

Faslane Peace Campers disrupt the indoctrination of the young, and come across a startlingly honest letter from the MoD.

On 6 September, anti-nuclear protesters from Faslane Peace Camp delivered an emotive message to the 'next generation' of nuclear weapons engineers at a nuclear weapons seminar in a hotel in Clydebank.

The 'Introduction to Nuclear Defence' seminar, held in Beardmore Hotel Clydebank, invited 'young delegates' for two days of seminars and presentations on military nuclear topics from 'leading industry figures'. The programme, only open to UK passport holders subject to stringent security…

2 July 2012News

As Faslane Peace Camp celebrates its 30th birthday with a month of action.

Nuclear disarmament.  If not now, when?

Leonna O’Neill

Leonna O'Neill, Angus Chalmers and Julia Herzog reflect on being in the right place at the right time.

The Scottish Independence debate has created a situation in which Scotland, where most of us are categorically opposed to nuclear weapons, has the potential to refuse to continue to host the British nuclear weapons system. With a lack, south of the Border, of alternative venues anywhere near as strategically…

30 May 2012News

Faslane Peace Camp reveal details of some of the host of actions planned against the Trident nuclear weapon system in Scotland during June.

Faslane Peace Campers are happy to announce that the 30 Days of Action, from 9 June to 9 July, will be filled with anti-nuclear shenanigans of the highest order.

Of the things we can disclose: there will be a CND peace picnic on 17 June; a peace march from Glasgow to Faslane from 21-23 of June; and on 1-2 July there will be a two-day Rise Up musical gathering – everyone is welcome and…

1 April 2012News

During our weekly vigil at Faslane, a quiet discussion arose about doing an action at the army recruitment offices in Glasgow to highlight the dishonest propaganda used to persuade young people to to join the army. The offices are on a busy central bus route so we decided to act during the morning rush hour.

We made plans to spray paint the windows, hand out fliers and lock on to delay our arrest. Having never incurred a vandalism charge, I had reservations about what I was about…

1 November 2011News

Women from Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp visit the home of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system.

The weekend of 14-17 October saw the delectable women of Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp descend on Faslane, home of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system. The theme of the invasion was “Domestic Extremists At Large” and they did her majesty’s Royal Navy a service by closing off the North Gate of Faslane naval base for a few hours on Saturday 16 October and giving the Ministry of Defence a much needed lesson in domesticity!

A few of us from the Faslane Peace Camp joined our sisters…