Labour MP in plea over Scottish shipbuilding
Labour MP Paul Sweeney has called on the UK government to commit to build all naval service ships in UK shipyards, including building the new Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers in Scotland.
Mr Sweeney, a shadow Scotland Office minister, will push for a parliamentary debate on the government’s shipbuilding strategy in the New Year.
The strategy guarantees that complex warships will be British-built, but not larger support vessels.
Labour say the pledge fails to make the best use of Scottish naval shipbuilding expertise and capacity while raising serious questions about national security by opening the bidding process up to international competition.
Mr Sweeeny said: “The Tory government is undermining confidence in our defence industry, with the new National Shipbuilding Strategy failing to commit to build these vital ships in the UK, as jobs and capacity across all British yards cannot be sustained by the Type 26 and Type 31 frigates alone.
“The defence shipbuilding industry supports thousands of skilled jobs in the Glasgow area and at Rosyth, yet the Tories seem more interested in a quick saving than they are in actively supporting that world-leading sector.
“They are already planning to sell off the huge Goliath crane used to assemble the aircraft carriers at Rosyth which could readily be used to build the new RFA vessels and secure jobs there for decades to come.”