How SNP ideology is damaging Scotland’s shipbuilding industry amid growing Russia threat
While the UK Government secured a £10 billion deal to build new warships for Norway, the SNP’s refusal to fund anything to do with ‘munitions’ is holding Scotland’s shipbuilding industry back
The start of a new parliamentary term heralds positive news for the shipyards of the Clyde. Earlier this week, the UK Labour government saw off French, German and US rivals to secure a £10 billion defence deal with Norway.
Delivering at least five new warships, Norway’s largest ever defence investment will create 4,000 UK jobs, including 2,000 alone at the BAE Systems Govan shipyard in Glasgow. The deal is a ringing endorsement of the world-class skills of Scottish shipbuilders, and an investment in Scotland’s future that stretches into the 2030s.
At the same time, it’s a reminder of the threat Scotland faces. Sadly, the main risk from the North Sea is no longer goosebumps on a summer holiday. Russia has stepped up its activity near Scotland’s coast – operatives disguised as fishermen are believed to have been behind the sabotage of undersea cables near Shetland in 2022.
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Hunting Russian submarines
The warship deal paves the way for a fleet of eight British and five Norwegian vessels to jointly patrol the North Sea. As UK Defence Secretary John Healey put it, the deal puts “more world-class warships in the North Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure, and keep both our nations secure”.
This is the big picture, but too often Scots are held back by the SNP government’s navel-gazing. Too often, rather than seizing an opportunity that will benefit the majority, it lets a noisy minority shut it down.
Just a few months ago, the SNP government put Scotland’s same shipbuilding skills in jeopardy after refusing to invest in world-class welding apprenticeships backed by Rolls Royce. The reason? The SNP refuses to fund anything classed as “munitions” – although in this case it seemed to be simply that the centre would support the construction of naval vessels. It was therefore left up to the UK Labour government to step in.
Whether it’s defence or health, the simple fact is that the ambitions of the Scottish people are currently being suffocated. The SNP Government has been in power for as long as the iPhone has existed – yet it has still not produced an NHS app.
Managed decline
Rather than grow the economy, the SNP has emptied the pockets of nurses and police officers by dragging them into the higher tax band. (Of course, some SNP politicians do have an entrepreneurial streak – see Nicola Sturgeon Limited and H&N Yousaf Limited for a 101 class on reducing your tax bill).
Scottish Labour will not settle for managed decline. The SNP may have run down our country, but the Clyde’s shipbuilders are no less ambitious or talented than they were two decades ago.
Our doctors and nurses still want to do the jobs they were trained to do. And the country that produced Rockstar North and Skyscanner can certainly create an app.
The world feels uncertain right now, and parties like Reform are preying on that while the SNP buries its head in the sand. But Scotland can do better – we can unlock the talent of our people; we can be ambitious for our future. What we need is a change of direction.
Jackie Baillie is MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader and her party’s spokesperson for health
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