GAMBLE THAT ‘RISKS 13,000 JOBS’
Warning over Sturgeon’s bid to axe Trident in Labour pact
THE SNP has been accused of ‘playing fast and loose’ with thousands of vital jobs after pledging to scrap Trident nuclear weapons.
Jackie Baillie, whose Holyrood constituency includes the Faslane nuclear base, condemned the SNP for trying to force a minority Labour government to ditch the deterrent’s renewal.
A senior SNP candidate claimed that alternative employment would be found for the thousands of workers at the base.
During her manifesto launch yesterday, Miss Sturgeon condemned Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for a windfall tax on oil and gas – and said she would force him to scrap Trident instead to save cash.
The SNP manifesto states its MPs will ‘build a cross-party coalition to scrap Trident as quickly and as safely as possible’, stating ‘the billions spent on Trident should be invested in our public services’.
But Miss Baillie said: ‘No politician should ever play fast and loose with people’s jobs. During my 20 years as MSP for Dumbarton, I have always voted to protect the workers I represent. But the SNP takes a different view when it comes to defence jobs in my constituency.
‘Nicola Sturgeon’s posturing on Trident in this General Election is nothing but an empty gesture.
‘I do not believe you can bargain away Trident and gamble with the security of the nation by trying to do a deal about who should form the next UK government.’
She said that Labour’s manifesto sets out the party’s ‘settled view’ that it supports Trident renewal. She said: ‘Labour supports the renewal of Trident. So it’s the SNP’s choice; but Trident is off the table.’
Last year, Ministry of Defence figures showed that 6,800 people were employed directly at Faslane by the Navy and its contractors, and a further 2,000 are expected to be recruited in the coming years. A further 4,500 supply chain jobs are dependent on the base on the Clyde.
Miss Baillie added: ‘That’s over 13,000 jobs linked to the base. Those who wish to scrap Trident are either unwilling or unable to set out a concrete plan for how these jobs would be replaced.’
Miss Sturgeon condemned Mr Corbyn’s plans for a windfall tax on the oil and gas sector over fears it could lead to tens of thousands of job losses in Scotland.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘They claim that Scotland is not good enough or rich enough to be independent but when they need to balance the UK books they always seem to find billions of pounds of Scottish resources to do the job for them.
‘Let me suggest a better way. It’s been estimated the renewal of Trident nuclear weapons could cost more than £200billion. That is a colossal waste of money. And weapons of mass destruction are immoral.’
Setting out her priorities for any ‘progressive alliance’ with Labour after the election, she said: ‘A key SNP demand for our support will be the removal of Trident from Scotland and the saving of billions of pounds to be invested instead in our public services.’
On BBC Radio Four yesterday, SNP international affairs spokesman Stephen Gethins was asked how the SNP would deal with the huge job losses if Trident was scrapped. He said: ‘But you’re spending £200billion on it. You mention these jobs, that is the kind of thing that could be reinvested in conventional forces, reinvested in tackling the threats that we actually have today.’
‘Play fast and loose with people’s jobs’