Labour MSP Paul Sweeney has called on the Scottish Government to re-evaluate its defence policy, warning that its current stance risks undermining vital industries in Glasgow and across the west of Scotland.
Speaking during a 18 June Scottish Parliament debate on Scotland’s role in defence, Sweeney seconded Labour’s amendment and urged ministers to reflect on the “emerging consensus” about the need for strong national defence and support for the industrial base that underpins it.
“Scotland contributes a great deal to the UK’s defence and to NATO’s defence collectively,” he said. “That is never more the case than through our shipbuilding industry, in which I worked prior to my election.”
Sweeney, the only serving MSP with a shipbuilding background, criticised the Scottish Government’s rejection of a support grant for Rolls-Royce to establish a naval welding centre at the National Manufacturing Institute in Inchinnan. He described the decision as a “huge opportunity… spurned,” adding: “I am really grateful that the UK Government has stepped in to ensure the project goes ahead, but that should provide the Scottish Government with a reality check on its position.”
He contrasted that decision with previous support for the sector, such as a £360,000 grant for the Applied Shipbuilding Skills Academy at Scotstoun, which he praised as a “great asset not just for BAE Systems but for the country’s wider shipbuilding ecosystem.”
Sweeney also highlighted the irony in the Government’s official amendment to the motion, which stated support for diversification away from defence. “It is increasing its dependence on defence work to sustain commercial shipbuilding activity on the Clyde,” he said, pointing to subcontracted Type 26 frigate work at Ferguson Marine.
He warned against backbench commentary that he said cast aspersions on the industry: “The facilities are not bomb factories and the funding cannot come from the largesse of those companies alone.”
Sweeney called for a more consistent, constructive industrial policy: “The message that is going out to more than 4,500 people who work in shipbuilding in Glasgow and the west of Scotland needs to be much more positive and supportive of that industry.”
As chair of Holyrood’s cross-party group on maritime and shipbuilding, Sweeney stressed the potential for industry collaboration, and concluded by calling for a balance between ethical export safeguards and the need to build up defence capabilities.
“We are an island nation and we need a navy. That is fairly axiomatic.”
