Hansard

It is a pleasure to speak in the debate, and I second the amendment in the name of my colleague Mr Johnson. It is a very sensible amendment and I encourage the Government to support it in full, as Stewart McDonald, the former SNP defence spokesperson, has indicated it should. He provides cogent analysis that we can have an ethical policy on arms export sales—there is cross-party consensus in that regard—notwithstanding the need for serious and robust investment in this country’s defence capabilities. Ultimately, that is what this debate is about.

Scotland contributes a great deal to the UK’s defence and to NATO’s defence collectively. That is never more the case than through our shipbuilding industry, in which I worked prior to my election to the Parliament—indeed, I believe that I am the only serving parliamentarian in Scotland who has a background in the shipbuilding industry. I also had the opportunity to serve as a Scottish Enterprise account manager for two years, during which time I worked with businesses—mainly, small and medium-sized enterprises—across the aerospace, defence and marine sectors in Scotland. Therefore, I have a fairly deep understanding of the potential of Scotland’s defence and maritime industries, and I am increasingly concerned by the hostility that is expressed towards them by the Government.

A recent example was the Government denying Rolls-Royce a support grant to establish a naval welding centre at the Scottish Government-supported National Manufacturing Institute in Inchinnan and to replenish the space at Rolls-Royce that has been vacant for some years since the end of the maintenance, repair and overhaul activity. That was a huge opportunity for high-value manufacturing development in Scotland, but the Scottish Government spurned that opportunity to crowd in investment in an area that desperately needs it. I am really grateful that the UK Government has stepped in to offer alternative grant funding to ensure that the project goes ahead, but that should provide the Scottish Government with a reality check on its position. We need those industries and we need to support them.

In the past, the Government in Scotland has supported our shipbuilding industry. For example, a £360,000 grant was provided for the applied shipbuilding skills academy at Scotstoun, which is a great asset not just for BAE Systems but for the country’s wider shipbuilding ecosystem. When I worked at BAE Systems, we regularly collaborated with Ferguson Marine—indeed, the only thing that is keeping Ferguson Marine operational today is subcontract work on the fabrication of steel units for the type 26 frigate programme. It is rather ironic, therefore, that the Government’s amendment to today’s motion is about diversification away from defence at a time when the Government is engaged in precisely the opposite—it is increasing its dependence on defence work to sustain commercial shipbuilding activity on the Clyde. We could, of course, go into detail about public procurement reform and the need for support to increase ferry production, but that is perhaps off the topic of the debate.

I encourage the Government not only to reflect on the emerging consensus—the reality of geopolitics in Europe, the need for security, the need to defend our country—but to recognise the immense contribution of shipbuilding in Glasgow and the wider Clydeside area, which is still the region’s largest manufacturing employer. Quite frankly, some of the comments from back benchers, which cast aspersions on the industry, were absolutely disgraceful. The facilities are not bomb factories and the funding cannot come from the largesse of those companies alone. The Government should engage and be proactive with and supportive of those industries, not dismissive of them.

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 and must recognise the immense value and wealth that it creates for our country. Although the Government explored those opportunities for diversification, its industrial policy is so incoherent that it is actually driving commercial shipbuilding opportunities away rather than in.

Immense opportunities exist to work in collaboration across the industry. Indeed, I chair the cross-party group on maritime and shipbuilding—which several members attend—where we are looking at those opportunities. It would be helpful if the Government made its defence support policy much better and much more rational instead of reactionary. The need for sure ethical safeguards for defence export sales should not be met at the expense of the need to build up our defence industry. We are an island nation and we need a navy.