Dear All
Sitting in Ward 5 in Glasgow
is Govan shipbuilders, the yard is responsible for churning out many of the UK
Ministry of Defence warships currently in service with the armed forces.
Shipbuilding on the Clyde
has military, economically and social history attached to it in a way that
borders on urban myth.
When Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon decided to
attempt their doomed independence many people thought that they had their act
together. Everyday, we heard that everything would be so wonderful in the 'Land
of milk and honey', new Nirvana was just around the corner.
In 'New Eckistan', the Eckistanis would have utopia, no one
would be unhappy, and everyone would have a job because the SNP would have
control of all the financial levers, except those they wanted to give away to Westminster and Brussels .
The SNP based their concept on the idea that they were talking to simple minded
bastards who would swallow anything.
What Alex Salmond and unpopular Nicola Sturgeon weren't
going to discuss was the 'bad things' which would happen if Scotland was independent.
Total closure of both Govan and Scotstoun shipbuilding
yards.
3,000 jobs in the industry on the Clyde
alone gone, Govan and surrounding areas badly affected, you see there are real
consequences of a Yes vote in the independence referendum. Instead of
offsetting this by having a plan, there was no plan. Recently a hard choice
faced BAE. In the Scottish yards, 835 jobs had to be shed to save both yards,
the Portsmouth
yard was closed with the lost of over a thousand jobs. This was a political
decision due to the referendum. In truth having Govan and Scotstoun so close
made a compelling case, the yards have a fine record of achievement both in
quality and bringing in vessels on time.
After Westminster saved the
Scottish yards, Scotland 's
unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a fool of herself by going
to Govan to offer assistance and try and get credit for doing nothing. Sturgeon
even took along John Swinney with her, two senior Government, numbers of jobs
saved by them....... zero!
Yes, all their talk added up to not a single job saved.
Unpopular Nicola Sturgeon, the 'face of independence' lost
835 jobs in Govan.
And they must have known this prior to going to Govan, this
was a deceitful attempt to be seen to be doing something which in reality added
up to doing nothing, how many people at Govan shipbuilders need someone to
point them towards the Govan jobcentre?
Nicola's going to Govan, Nicola's going to save the jobs, oh
oh oh Nicola's coming!!!!
The SNP has been in 'business' for 80 years, so this begs
the question, if they are supposed to be a Nationalist party and if they are
supposed to standing up for Scotland
and Scots, where was the rolling blueprint of an independent Scotland ?
It surely must have occurred to someone in 80 years that a
plan for the entire country was needed?
Seeing a chance to highlight the lack of substance to the
Nationalist case, Labour Leader Johann Lamont launched a new poster campaign
focused on the impact of independence on the industry as met trade union
leaders on the Clyde .
Lamont said shipbuilding industry in Scotland had
“come through really tough times”, but she insisted:
“There is a danger that if we vote Yes in September we won’t
have a shipbuilding industry any longer, because we’re reliant on these defence
contracts. These jobs are at risk if we vote Yes, people need to understand
that, but for the SNP clearly that’s a price worth paying.”
Englishman Angus Robertson, SNP MP and their Westminster leader
and defence spokesman replied by demanding the “disgraceful anti-independence
shipbuilding scare stories must end once and for all”.
He said:
“The No campaign is looking and sounding desperate as they
cling on to Project Fear scare stories which have already been dismissed. It is
beyond belief that anti-independence politicians claim that shipbuilding on the
Clyde and at Rosyth is safe in Westminster ’s
hands. This is an industry that in the last 30 years has lost thousands of jobs
and been decimated by Westminster government
after Westminster
government. The Clyde has been, is now, and will in the future be the best
place to build the new generation of naval ships, and that is coming direct
from senior directors at BAE Systems”.
So, lets look at this ditto by him objectively.
It isn't a scare story that Scotland
would lose Ministry of Defence warship contracts, Britain
for the last 50 years hasn't built a warship outside the UK . The SNP
leaders tried to muddy the waters by claiming auxiliary vessels built elsewhere
was the same as warships. In their mind a ship is a ship, totally military
unaware, how can anyone trust them with the defence of Scotland with
under developed thinking like that?
You won't!
Procurement placement is a political decision and will
always remain so. SNP MP Angus Robertson highlights jobs have been lost in the
past, that is true, but it is the same all over the world. As to his claim by
default that an indy Scotland
would build warships because it is the best place and that is coming direct
from senior directors at BAE Systems. That is fact woven with fiction, yes, it
is the best place, but BAE takes its orders from Westminster . Military shipbuilding contracts
wouldn't be available.
And to imply it would be so, after firm assurances is totally
disingenuous.
Duncan McPhee, Unite union convener at the BAE Scotstoun
yard on the Clyde , said the MoD was the yard’s
“major customer”.
And given they foot the bill, they get to decide when and
where their products get built and by whom.
McPhee said the contract could provide some years of work
for the yard but he added as well:
“The Ministry of Defence will not build a complex warship
outside of the UK .
Unless the Scottish Government could replace that work, our industry
would be decimated if Scotland
became independent. We have 3,000 jobs on the Clyde
at the moment that would be under immediate threat if there was a Yes vote. We’re
here today because we want to help make the public aware of the implications.”
Over in Rosyth; Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael was
also visiting Babcock Rosyth, where the Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth class
aircraft carrier is currently under construction.
After doing the tour, he spent time listening to workers’
concerns regarding Scottish independence.
After the meeting, Raymond Duguid, Unite convener at Babcock
Rosyth, said:
“Our message to the minister was we need facts. We need to
know what Yes means, what No means, and the workforce of Rosyth deserve those
answers. We’re getting those answers, whether they are palatable or not, from
the No side. Unfortunately we’re not getting them from the Yes side and that’s
what we need now. Our members need to make an informed decision on September
18. We are under no illusion that the UK Navy will not come to Scotland to do
refits. We are building the carrier at the moment but we are primarily a refit
yard and that work will not come to Rosyth, we know that, and the Scottish navy
in the white paper is not big enough to sustain Rosyth. I would question whether he (Alex Salmond)
knows where Rosyth is.”
So, the workers are not backing Alex Salmond and unpopular
Nicola Sturgeon, and why should they, they are being asked to risk their entire
future, their jobs, their homes, their mortgages, their families future and
Alex Salmond can't be bothered to even produce a plan.
Sheer utter contempt by Alex Salmond.
“The key messages that I heard today from the workforce and
the shop stewards is that they are very concerned that with 86 days to go
before decision day on September 18 they have still not been told what the
future holds for them in an independent Scotland. We know that as part of the UK there is a future for the shipbuilding and
defence industries in Scotland .
It’s now for the nationalists to come forward with some certainty to the
workforce here and elsewhere”.
“We are told that neither Alex Salmond nor Nicola Sturgeon
is actually prepared to meet the unions or talk to the workforce. I have to say
I find that very disappointing, if not massively surprising.”
So, there you have it, neither Alex Salmond nor Nicola
Sturgeon will support the workers because they have nothing to say to them of
any value whatsoever. Salmond and Sturgeon if they achieved their goals would
oversee the closure of Scotland
entire shipbuilding industry. A Scottish MoD couldn't sustain a healthy order
book for the Scottish yards. Englishman Angus Robertson should obviously know this
that given the time he has been the SNP defence spokesman.
Or maybe he is doesn't, he could be genuinely thick!
One also wonders as SNP defence spokesman, how many requests
has he made to visit Scottish troops stationed in operational areas during his
tenure in that post?
How many times has he actually visited Scottish troops when
they have been placed in harm's way?
The case for Scottish independence has collapsed entirely,
because the SNP leaders aren't fit for purpose, they have spent their time
feathering their own nest and operating as a clique. When original thinking was
needed, Salmond and Sturgeon hadn't a pool of talent to draw on, they created a
'rat ship', and now they are paying the price for it.
Time for a quote:
"My problem is that I have too many talented people and
not enough Cabinet positions".
Alex Salmond.
Where are the plans then?
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
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