Defence and thousands of jobs in Tory firing line

Published on Tuesday 15 September 2009 22:03

THE £4 billion contract to build two aircraft carriers might come under threat if the Conservatives win the next election, the shadow chancellor suggested yesterday, putting thousands of Scottish jobs at risk.

The hint came in comments by George Osborne ahead of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's speech to the Trades Union Congress conference in Liverpool. Mr Osborne suggested that major defence projects would need to be reviewed to bring down public spending, with the current UK budget running at a 175bn deficit.

The shadow chancellor identified the carriers as one of the three big defence contracts that he would want to review, along with the Eurofighter and A400M transporters.

If the carriers project were to be axed, it could cost 4,600 jobs in the Scotstoun and Govan yards on the Clyde and at Rosyth. Work on the two carriers – to be called the Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales – which are intended to be the core of an upgraded Royal Navy, has suffered delays already.

However, with the Tories promising to protect health spending, defence is one of the few areas left for savings. With commitments in Afghanistan to pay for, the Tories would have to look at future projects.

Mr Osborne claimed Labour had engaged over the past few months in a "dangerous fantasy" that the UK could spend its way out of trouble. He claimed Mr Brown had "pulled up the white flag" on spending cuts.

But asked whether his party would be able to identify savings quickly enough for a snap post-poll budget, Mr Osborne complained about being left in the dark over defence contracts by the Treasury.

"I do not know the details of some of the major defence projects, which have been the subject of speculation in the newspapers," he said. "I do not know what the break clauses are in the Eurofighter programme or the A400M or the aircraft carriers. We do have those limitations."

He insisted that only health and international aid had been spared the prospect of Tory cuts, with defence proving one of the most contentious areas.

Mr Osborne also warned that any cuts might come very soon after a Conservative election victory. He said a Tory administration would present a budget within weeks of taking office.

The comments have provoked a furious response from politicians in Scotland, who fear cancellation of the carriers would lead to long-term unemployment on the Clyde and an end to Scotland's once-proud shipbuilding industry.

John Robertson, Labour MP for Glasgow North West, said: "The very idea of cancelling these contracts will send a shiver down the Clyde. My constituents have got work from the Labour government, and they will be unforgiving if the Tories now say they would tear them up.

SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson, MP, added: "Scotland's shipyards are the finest in the world, and the contract to build these aircraft carriers is essential to their long-term success. Be it Labour or Tory, the next UK government has a duty to scrap wasteful defence projects – such as the pointless Trident nuclear weapons system – and invest in conventional assets such as these aircraft carriers."

Bernie Hamilton, of the union Unite, which represents many of the workers involved in the project, claimed Mr Osborne's comments underlined that the Tories were not committed to the security of the nation or jobs. He added: "It will also mean that Britain loses the expertise required for building its own warships."

A spokesman for the defence contractor responsible for the carriers project, said BVT did not wish to comment on Mr Osborne's remarks. He added: "We are confident of completing the carriers on time."

&#149 Up to 100 civilian staff at an RAF base are set to lose their jobs, the Ministry of Defence said last night. The United States Air Force (USAF) in Europe has decided to draw down its activities at RAF Fairford, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, home to the Royal International Air Tattoo. All 112 uniformed personnel will be withdrawn, as well as a small number of US civilians. There are 220 UK civilian posts, of which 100 lose their jobs.

Where the axe could fall

AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

AROUND 4,600 jobs on the shipyards at Clyde and Rosyth depend on the construction of the two biggest and most powerful warships ever built for the Royal Navy.

The project, originally costed at 4billion, will see HMS Queen Elizabeth enter service in 2014 followed by the HMS Prince of Wales in 2016. Another 5,400 people are employed south of the Border on the project, which will see the 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers forming the "cornerstone" of Britain's future ability to project military power worldwide, together with the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and the new Type 45 destroyers.

They are being built by Costs BVT, which was created when BAE Systems on the Clyde and Portsmouth's Vosper Thorneycroft joined forces to build the carriers.

The construction of the aircraft carriers is not just the responsibility of the Scottish shipyards. The work has been split between the Clyde's Scotstoun and Govan yards, Rosyth, Portsmouth, Appledore in Devon, and Barrow-in-Furness.

After their completion, the MOD has said that BVT bases on the Clyde, Portsmouth and Filton will be responsible for building 18 new frigates in a 3.5bn deal that will safeguard jobs in the shipyards.

EUROFIGHTER

IN JULY this year Britain agreed a 3billion contract for 40 more Eurofighter Typhoon jets – a deal that the government said would safeguard 15,000 British jobs. The first of the new aircraft, which will be based at RAF Leuchars in Fife and RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, should enter service in 2013.

The aircraft are being built by BAE Systems in the UK, plus partners in Germany, Italy and Spain. Eurofighter is a multi-purpose combat jet. BAE is working with the aerospace group EADS and the Italy-based group Alenia/Finmeccanica.

Of the latest batch for this country, 24 are to replace aircraft which were diverted to Saudi Arabia as part of an export deal.

BAE Systems will assemble the new jets at its existing production line at Warton in Lancashire with the engines made by Rolls-Royce in Bristol and radar supplied by Selex in Edinburgh. The Eurofighter has been dogged by delays and cost over-runs, and critics claim it is a leftover of Cold War planning and should no longer be a military priority.

After several years of speculation that Britain could axe the final tranche altogether, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in May that it would go ahead if a satisfactory deal could be struck with manufacturers.

A400M TRANSPORTER

THE A400M Transporter project has been plagued with difficulties since its launch in 2003 and seven Nato government's ordered 180 of the grey, hulking aircraft designed to carry up to 32 tonnes.

The 16billion programme, which will see the delivery of 60 planes to Germany, 50 to France, 27 to Spain, 25 to Britain, ten to Turkey, seven to Belgium and one to Luxembourg, has been given a stay of execution until the beginning of next year.

Manufactured by Airbus under the auspices of its parent group the aerospace group EADS, the aircraft are supposed to replace Lockheed Martin Corp's ageing C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft used by the US Air Force as well as the retired C-160 Transall transport aircraft developed by a French and German consortium.

Each Airbus A400M transporter costs more than 100million apiece. But the aircraft has been criticised for being overweight. Its turbo-prop engines built by Rolls-Royce and France's Snecma are under-powered. There have been serious glitches in the software from MTU Aero Engines.

In Britain, MPs on the Defence Select Committee have suggested ditching the A400M altogether, opting for cheaper models from Lockheed Martin and Boeing.