Labour has confirmed it will step in to secure funding for a major defence manufacturing initiative in Glasgow, after the Scottish Government reportedly pulled financial support from a critical industrial project.
The initiative in question is a planned £11 million specialist welding centre on the River Clyde, intended to support submarine construction and shipbuilding work for the Royal Navy. The facility, which would be led by Rolls-Royce, was expected to deliver high-tech capabilities in advanced welding techniques, reduce production costs, support carbon efficiency, and create hundreds of high-value jobs in Scotland’s defence industrial base.
However, the proposal collapsed after Scottish Enterprise—an economic agency under the Scottish Government—rescinded a vital £2.5 million grant. According to The Times, the withdrawal has triggered condemnation from across the political spectrum, with critics accusing the SNP-led administration of undermining both national security and Scotland’s industrial future.
Labour MSP Paul Sweeney called the move “an act of industrial self-sabotage,” pointing out the contradiction in SNP ministers blocking a vital investment for Glasgow’s economy while simultaneously relying on subcontract work from UK defence projects to sustain shipyards like Ferguson Marine. “It’s disgraceful,” he wrote on X, highlighting the impact on the city’s largest manufacturing employer.
Defence Secretary John Healey also delivered a scathing critique of the SNP’s decision, describing it as “Student Union politics” rather than serious governance. Speaking on the issue, he said:
“The welding skills centre isn’t just to support the munitions business. This is about strengthening Scotland’s shipbuilding pipeline and creating essential skills and new opportunities for young people.”
“I can hardly believe this is the case—but I’m told the Scottish Nationalist Government refuses to provide funding to get this centre off the ground. If they won’t support the future of skilled jobs in Scotland, then we will.”
Healey warned that the decision revealed a lack of seriousness from the SNP on skills, youth employment, and industrial innovation. He went on:
“This isn’t a government focused on young people’s futures, or the skills base of Scotland, or the strength of British industry. Scotland has a vital role to play—both in shoring up our defence sector and in reinforcing the strength of the Armed Forces.”
The project had been in development for years, with support from Royal Navy planners. It was set to provide advanced welding infrastructure critical for submarine construction and maintenance. The centre would also have been a cornerstone of efforts to modernise shipbuilding and deliver sustainable employment to the region.
Labour’s intervention now ensures that funding will be guaranteed, offering a lifeline to what many see as a strategically crucial initiative for UK defence and Scotland’s industrial future.
The Telegraph and other media are reporting Ukraine has destroyed Russian strategic bombers in a mass drone attack on airfields across Russia. The operation, carried out by Ukraine’s security service, appears to have targeted at least two airfields thousands of miles from the frontline.
“Enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia — this is the result of a special operation by the SBU,” an SBU source told the Kyiv Independent.
Footage from both Olenya air base, in the Arctic, and Belaya base is in Siberia, shows whole rows of Russian TU-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic and nuclear bombers burning! Russia moved its expensive bombers further north and east to get them out of range of Ukraine’s drones. I expect the fires were caused by debris from the drones being shot down, as always.
Thing is Russia has a massive land mass and it is super difficult to cover with radar or anti drone measures.
It is a game of chess.
UKR wait until Russia exposes a suitable route they can gets various assets into undetected. UKR has the ELINT product of the various system locations so can plot round that.
Ukraine did say that it was working up a 2000km range drone..and also Europe has just taken the strategic range governors off anything it provides or supports… I suspect it was a mix of long range strike and closer range special operations.. but what it shows is that you win wars ( or at least don’t loss them ) due to your ability to undertake strategic attacks against the enemy ( make them suffer and impact on their ability to make war on you).. just fighting the tactical battle may win you the battle it does not win you a peer war.
It was just quadcopters launched from lorries. Essentially a false roof on a shipping container that they got delivered to a nearby area of the bases.
Not much air defence can do against that.
The Provos invented techniques like this. They mortared 10 Downing Street from the back of a lorry in an attempt to kill John Major during the Irish war. Film on YouTube does show rows of Tu-bombers out in the open bursting into flames.
Russian heads will roll. Even better 🙂
The Russians are not stupid….well, maybe.
If UKR can drive a lorry deep into Russia, Russian or sympathisers, or ISIS, or whoever can fly Drones into RAF Lossimouth and elsewhere hitting our lined up like Skittles P8s, E7s, Atlas, C17, and so on. Or RN bases with ships tied up.
The RAF has a CUAS Wing with jammers and some LMM but that is window dressing.
Dispersal of such big assets is not logistically realistic in peacetime, and in war, where are the RAF logisticians, ammunition specialists, mechanics, ATC, and ground crews? To say nothing of specialised ammunition facilities at dispersal airfields that are not owned by the MoD.
I saw a report that said 40 aircraft hit at the base I can’t believe they destroyed that many of that type of bomber in 1 go Russia only has 46 (tu95) if it’s true that’s one hell of a operation
I can believe it. This was clearly a David Stirling type of op
Tu-160s have been hit too? This news just gets better and better doesn’t it. I don’t think they have many of those, like 15-20? Some reports saying there’s only like 25 or so Tu-22 active as well, and supposedly at least one A-50 is meant to have been hit too.
Kind of demonstrates the danger of having large, expensive, valuable aircraft all lined up in the open without any protective hangar or revetment. Good thing we don’t do that eh?
Our Typhoons are safely hidden under canvas marquees at RAF Coningsby 🙂
Some…mate. Coningsby has 2 HAS sites for the front line Sqns. The OCU and OEU use the vulnerable flight line.
We do have Typhoon under such structures, but they are not at Coningsby.
Well the SNP have really shot themselves in the head with this one..
The late Scottish nationalist Alex Salmond used to live in Moscow, working for the Russian TV outlet Russia Today (now RT) He produced vitriolic anti-british pro-indepence proaganda for Putin. His Alba party still wants Faslane closed and opposes the nuclear deterent.
Like CND, their roots lie with the Communist Party in the Cold War.
Rolls royce, bae and babcock are all seeing soaring profits and yet they say “vital grants”!! The cheek of it. They eant workforce to continue upskilling they need to pay for it. When did we stop wanting businesses to pay for their workforce development and put it on us to pay for it??
Honestly because international business needs to be bribed to invest in one specific nation.. and if you want a strategic workforce in a specific area you cannot just leave it to the markets..
I mean, I know why we do it, its just frustration at three huge companies making their biggest profits in their companies lifecycle, all complaining avout 2.5mill of funding to make a government look bad, while they piss 2.5mill a day each in poor management and cost control practices. Just makes you laugh sometimes.
Have you thought to ask Enterprise Scotland why they cut the funding? The impression I get from this article is that you’ve merely quoted Labour’s talking heads and little else.
How about presenting the news from a different frame of reference. “Enterprise Scotland has rescinded £2.5m of funding for a new submarine welding centre after guarantees from the UK government that they’d step in to plug the funding gap, freeing up limited resources for investments in other projects.”
They did cover it in a previous article. SNP refused funding because they do not want any nuclear arms manufacturing in Scotland. They consider welding and maintaining RN ships and submarines to be working on nuclear arms.
Stupidity worthy of student union politics.
This article is just Labour stepping in to cover the funding that the SNP/Scots Government have told Enterprise Scotland to refuse.
The SNP have a policy against public funding for weapons. I can understand how they arrived at that position, but it’s now outdated – in this day and age it’s not a sensible position to hold. I don’t think the majority of the Scottish public – that includes me – will support them in this. What’s more, the SNP Scottish government has allowed the Labour UK government to score a significant, and foreseeable, goal against them.
The Ukr attack really doubly underlines that we cannot afford to have military aircraft sitting out in the open, as we do. They are already dead ducks in the event of an accurate missile attack, now we have the threat of drone strikes – it would only take a few little teams of Russian operatives or their fifth columnist or paid gangsters to do a lot of damage.
Every military aircraft should be protected in a HAS, and ideally located in an underground shelter with a heavily reinforced roof structure. This seems nowhere on the MOD’s list of key things to do, when it should really have been a very high priority for years.
The Swedes built a fighter base inside a mountain to protect their combat aircraft, we just seem oblivious to the very obvious threat.
Contracts need issuing PDQ for giant hardened shelters that will take P8s etc. MOD would probably give the contract if it ever comes to it to a Chinese firm.
And the shelters would report to Beijing – where they are, what is in them, even audio?
Sound
I’m sure Gordonston school and the golf course here would gladly give up their land for just such a venture.
Brass neck labour. Support Scottish industry? Industrial self sabotage? Grangemouth refinery anyone? Scottish nationalist government? Playing with words. Must think Scots voters button up the back. We see you.