Portsmouth fears further decline as new Navy frigate fleet goes to Plymouth base
A NAVAL row has broken out over the home location of Britain’s new Type 26 frigates as Portsmouth’s council leader accused the Government of breaking its promise to the city.
Gerald Vernon-jackson, the leader of the council, said the Government had failed to keep its pledge to support defence work in the city, as it announced all eight of the new Type-26 frigates will be based in Plymouth.
The news, announced from the deck of HMS Montrose by Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, was “a blow for the city”, Mr Vernon-jackson said.
“There is a significant logic in basing these frigates with the carriers they are meant to protect here in Portsmouth,” he said. “I’m really disappointed with the Mod’s decision. We will be working ... to get ministers to reconsider this decision”.
The Royal Navy is set to build new Type 31 general purpose frigates and, so far, there has been no commitment to build or base any of them in Portsmouth, nor has there been any commitment on where frigate maintenance will be done, which has a significant impact on jobs in the dockyard.
Mr Vernon-jackson said he was concerned because having removed shipbuilding from Portsmouth the Government promised the city would get more maintenance work. “That is a promise the Government should keep, but it has not happened yet,” he said.
More than 500 years of shipbuilding ended in Portsmouth in 2015 when BAE Systems relocated to other parts of the UK, including Glasgow which is building the Type 26 fleet.
Admiral Lord Alan West, the former First Sea Lord, said Portsmouth’s dockyard workers could face a squeeze if the Government is unable to strike a deal to build the new Type 31e warships, the cheaper version of the Type 26, which is primarily designed for the export market.
“If they’re not coming and replacing the Type 23s, there will be a squeeze on Portsmouth – there won’t be the work there,” he said.
The Government’s initial plan for industry to produce the vessels for no more than £250 million each collapsed earlier this year. A second round of bids is now being developed.
“I would be delighted if the Government can make the timescale, and that the [Type 31e] frigates can be produced for £250million [each], but I’m just not convinced this will happen,” Lord West said.
Work on HMS Glasgow, the first of the eight Type 26 Global Combat Ships in a £3.7 billion deal with BAE Systems, is under way at the Clyde shipyard in Scotland.
The new ships will replace the Type 23 frigate as the workhorse of the Fleet, entering service with the Royal Navy in the mid-2020s.
Stephen Morgan, Labour MP for Portsmouth South, supported the Government’s decision. “Constituents of Portsmouth South know that I always fight for what’s best for our city and that I’ll be honest with them,” he said.
“This is a strategic decision: it isn’t about party politics, it’s about what’s best for our Navy,” he added. “I’ll always push for more ships in our port, but when it’s the right thing for national security, it’s clear we must listen to the experts.”