THE SNP is accusing the UK Tory Government of risking the future of thousands of Scottish shipbuilding jobs as fears grow that a massive Royal Navy contract will go overseas.
The MoD has put out to tender a £1.5 billion contract to build three new ships which will supply the Navy’s aircraft carriers. The new vessels were reclassified as warships last year, which should have guaranteed they would be built in the UK.
However, last September, the Westminster government revealed four consortiums had been given £5m contracts to develop their bids. The consortiums are based in India and the Netherlands, and BAE Systems and Babcock – dubbed Team UK – who have bases on the Clyde and Rosyth.
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It has now been reported that some of the four consortiums have been told their early proposed costs were “too high” and to “go back to the drawing board”. Bob King, who heads up the Defence Industry Group at the Prospect union, said bidders were specifically told to take out the costs of making the ships in the UK and to “put them abroad”, resulting in disaster for British shipbuilding and local supply chains.
Francis Tusa, editor of Defence Analysis, said that “it looks as if, yet again, the Royal Navy want a pretty complex ship, but at bargain basement prices'' and that “the only people who will offer the sort of prices that the Royal Navy wants are overseas yards.”
Commenting, SNP MSP Stuart McMillan said: “Boris Johnson unveiled a new shipbuilding strategy less than a month ago and already it looks like it’s holed under the waterline. This contract would help safeguard the livelihoods of many highly-skilled Scots workers. If the contracts go abroad it would be devastating for the yards and the local communities.
“We’ve been here before. Once again, the Westminster government makes promises to Scottish yard workers only to be let down. In 2014 the anti-independence argument was that jobs would be lost on the Clyde if Scotland voted for Independence. They promised 13 new warships would be built. But, following the vote, that number has reduced to eight ships.
“What the supporters of Westminster control warned would happen if Scotland voted for independence actually happened as a result of Scotland NOT voting for independence.
"These new deep and very real concerns over the future of Scotland’s naval yards from unions and industry analysts is simply the latest incarnation of broken Tory promises. They can’t be trusted with the future of Scotland.
“Next month Scotland has the chance to send another message to deceitful Boris Johnson and his Tory broken promises by voting SNP on May 5.”
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