ON Tuesday I spoke in the parliament during the Warfare or Welfare debate and in the Protecting Scotland’s Children debate in Wednesday.

I have always been strongly opposed to nuclear weapons and the proposed replacement of Trident.

It is important to keep in mind the huge danger these weapons pose. These weapons are on our own doorsteps — a matter of miles away.

Newly released figures by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee indicated that the Trident replacement programme will cost an eye-watering £167 billion. It’s disappointing that the UK Government want to renew Trident while continuing a programme of austerity and cutting the welfare budget by £12 billion.

Tory MSP, John Lamont, even indicated that cost should be no consideration in replacing Trident.

What are we missing out on when we pour money down the financial black hole of Trident? Could we not use that money more wisely, creating some public good rather than funding destruction and death?

Despite squeezed defence budgets the UK Government have pursued the replacement of Trident at the expense of spending on conventional defence and conventional manufacturing jobs.

Instead of wasting billions on bombs the UK Government should be abolishing their austerity agenda and investing for the future. That means ditching their proposed tax credit cuts which will see, on average, families losing out on £1,300 per year. In Scotland tax credits are overwhelmingly paid to working people — 95 per cent are paid to families with children. In Inverclyde alone, 5,500 children will be directly affected by the proposed cuts to tax credits.

As a nation, Scotland opposes nuclear weapons. The overwhelming majority of Scottish MSPs and MPs are opposed to its replacement. It’s time the UK Government listened to what the people are saying.