Nicola Sturgeon was told that her record on shipbuilding had “sunk” the case for independence at First Minister’s Questions today, after a defence expert said there was “no future” for warship-building in an independent Scotland.
Earlier this week, Rishi Sunak announced a £4.2 billion contract to build Royal Navy warships on the Clyde, which would support around 4,000 jobs.
However, Keith Hartley – a professor of economics and a defence expert for the United Nations and the European Defence Agency – said he “didn’t see a future” for Scottish warship-building in an independent Scotland.
Douglas Ross criticised the First Minister’s “appalling” shipbuilding record, revealing that the UK Government has delivered seven warships in Scotland in the same time the SNP completed one solitary ferry.
It comes after almost half of Highlands and Islands businesses told a survey that unreliable transport links posed a risk to their future, and islanders on Uist were left with food shortages last week.
Scottish Conservative Leader, Douglas Ross said: “Rishi Sunak has announced a £4.2 billion contract to build five warships on the Clyde and support around 4,000 jobs – yet this massive boost to Scottish shipbuilding is only possible because we’re part of the United Kingdom.
“This week a UN defence expert confirmed that if the Nationalists ever managed to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK, these Royal Navy ships would almost certainly be built elsewhere, and highly-skilled Scottish jobs would be lost.
“This view is hardly surprising when the First Minister still hasn’t delivered either of the two new ferries being built at Ferguson Marine, despite costs of over £250 million.
“In fact, since 2014, the SNP Government has completed a grand total of just one ferry, in the same time that the UK Government has delivered seven warships.
“Nicola Sturgeon is up separation creek without a paddle.
“The First Minister’s record is appalling. She has failed to build essential ferries for Scotland’s island communities – and we still don’t know for sure when either of the Ferguson ferries will actually launch.
“The First Minister might not want to admit that her shipbuilding record has sunk the case for independence, but she cannot deny that the SNP’s shameful failure to replace lifeline ferries is doing real damage to island communities.”
Notes:
Professor Keith Hartley, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of York told the Scottish Affairs Committee there was no future for defence shipbuilding in an independent Scotland. When asked by Douglas Ross if he believed there was ‘a future to defence shipbuilding in Scotland’ should the country become independent from the rest of the United Kingdom, Hartley replied, “No. Sorry!” He elaborated, “I am quite [unequivocal] you do not, an independent Scotland will presumably have a minute navy, it would be like, for example, Ireland with offshore patrol vessels, it won’t have a demand for deep water frigates and destroyers of the sort being built like the Type 26 and the Type 31 currently being built in Scotland. It won’t have that demand, it couldn’t afford them anyhow. A unit for the Frigate Type 31 Frigate is £250 million at least. Now I don’t know the size of the independent Scotland’s defence budget but it is not going to be large. I don’t think they will put a lot of resources into building advanced warships. So in short I don’t see a future for a Scottish warship building industry in an independent Scotland.” (Scottish Affairs Committee, 14 November 2022, link).