Annabel Goldie MSP: Shipbuilding is a national industry, not a Nationalist one

Published on Tuesday 7 July 2009 22:04

THIS week sees the opening of another Scottish shipbuilding chapter with the beginning of the construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth II, one of two aircraft carriers that are to be built in Scotland in the next few years.

The overall project is worth 400 million to the Scottish economy, 4,000 jobs on the Clyde alone, and of course is a source of pride as we show the world that we can still construct ships of the highest quality.

As a West of Scotland MSP, I am acutely aware that shipbuilding is one of Scotland's proudest industries. That is why I am also so concerned that the SNP could destroy that industry. While masquerading as the party that stands up for the people of Scotland, the SNP actually stands for nothing of the sort. Nicola Sturgeon may be the MSP for Govan but her party would rip the shipbuilding heart out of the constituency for the sake of independence.

It upsets me that Alex Salmond's party says it supports great Scottish industries while introducing policies which do exactly the opposite. Look at whisky; Alex Salmond pretends to support whisky jobs but he also wants to introduce minimum pricing which the industry says will put hundreds of jobs at risk. You can't have it both ways Alex. Unfortunately on so many occasions he does.

The days when Scotland shipbuilding dominated the world have passed. Due to the nature of the world economy it is now very difficult for Glasgow to compete with nations such as South Korea or China for many of the large commercial shipbuilding contracts. Thankfully, due to our place within the United Kingdom, we are able to compete for defence contracts that the rest of the world cannot. It is these Royal Navy contracts that are essential to keeping shipbuilding alive in Scotland.

However, these contracts are under threat due to the SNP's desire for independence. If the Nationalists got their way, Scotland would be a foreign country making it unlikely that any UK defence contracts would come North. Why would the government of England, Wales and Northern Ireland place valuable defence contracts here? It is rank hypocrisy for the SNP to pretend to stand up for these jobs on the Clyde. Alex Salmond claims that Scotland would have its own navy. This is the same man who uses, or used to use before Labour's recession, Ireland as a successful example of a small independent country. Ireland only has small fisheries protection vessels – not enough work to keep shipbuilding alive in Scotland.

Moreover, policies such as withdrawing from NATO, and a record of not supporting nearly every UK military operation, means that there would be no task that could justify the creation of such a navy. So while Alex Salmond might claim that he plans for a Scottish Navy, it is difficult to see how he would fund it and what it would do. This of course means that this is likely to be yet another broken promise by the SNP, with the people of Govan and Rosyth being those who pay the price.

Alex Salmond is consistently attempting to take over key Scottish brands for the Nationalist cause. I recently argued that he should stop politicising the Saltire for his own ends. But he is also attempting to do the same with key Scottish industries. Whisky is Scottish not Nationalist. Shipbuilding is a national industry not a Nationalist industry. The shipbuilding and whisky industries support jobs and parties can be judged on policy. The First Minister's position in these areas exposes the fact that the SNP does not stand up for Scotland.

&#149 Annabel Goldie is leader of the Scottish Conservatives.