The Labour Government has announced £2.5 million in funding to secure a new Welding Development Facility in Glasgow, after the Scottish Government declined to back the project.
The announcement will be made by Defence Secretary John Healey during his speech to the Labour Party Conference, according to the party.
The £11 million centre is intended to provide specialist welding training and support a pipeline of defence workers. It will be operated initially by Rolls Royce Submarines in partnership with Malin Group and the University of Strathclyde, with capacity for other organisations in the future. The facility will be delivered through the Government’s Unity contract with Rolls Royce, an eight-year agreement worth around £9 billion to sustain support for the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarine fleet.
In his remarks, Mr Healey stated: “Labour is proud of Scotland’s maritime heritage, and we are taking action to ensure its success long into the future. Where the SNP won’t back Scottish industry, young people or our national security, Labour will step in.” He added that recent initiatives, including record defence exports, were aimed at “making Scotland a shipbuilding superpower once again.”
The facility is part of a wider package of measures announced in the Defence Industrial Strategy, including a new Defence Growth Deal for Scotland and a £182 million UK-wide skills programme to expand the defence workforce. According to Labour, the investment will help to safeguard jobs in Clyde shipbuilding and support the wider industry at sites including Rosyth and Methil.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also welcomed the decision, saying: “Scotland has world-class skills and a proud shipbuilding tradition, but time and time again they have been failed by the SNP. Once again this is Labour proving that we are the only party that will back investment to protect our security and support high paid jobs.”
The Scottish Executive at Holyrood is very vocal on how other branches of Government should spend its money but is often more conservative about opening its own purse. It’s your pal who expects a feed at a top nosh restaurant when you’re paying but is really enthusiastic about KFC the following weekend when he’s paying.
What is really odd is how they will subsidise Ferguson but not invest in it or support something like this that does genuinely support skills and other industries.
It’s actually smack bang in line with their ideology, no Oil, no Gas and absolutely no Nuclear anything. There isn’t a cat in hells chance of them ever spending a single Penny on supporting jobs with anything to do with Nuclear Civil or Defence.
On the other hand I’m really happy the UK Government has stepped in to fund this announcement, Healey had it in his speech this morning and called them out over it.
As for RR Submarines involvement, I’m really not surprised as it expands on the existing Glasgow facility and provides another source of highly skilled engineers. It isn’t like there aren’t other companies in Glasgow and Scotland involved in the Dreadnought / SSN(A) supply chain (just don’t tell the SNP).
The irony of the SNPs stance is that in their 2014 Independence manifesto funding for an independent Scotland would mainly come from the energy sector. 🤷🏼♂️
The SNP of today is very different to the SNP of 2014. Much more “progressive” and dominated by student politics than it was under Salmond.
It’s because it has ties with the UK defence industry which happens to be a boon for the Scottish economy. That conflicts with their separatist agenda and so they try to undermine and ignore it. Fingers in the ears, la,la,la, everything is rubbish.
Indeed anything that creates a greater tie to the wider Uk is counter to their dogma.
Jonathan it’s very highly welding for Nuclear Submarines so an absolute SNP no no !
Not only that Rodney… but Submarines build in England for England..English nuclear submarines..that are then forced on poor Scotland…spit in their eyes.
WOW !. Probably the main committment to defence iat this conference.
Worst thing about this is the SNP will claim credit for it. Even worse 37% of people in Scotland still believe them. It’s shocking we live in a country where 37% of the Vote guarantees you government.