First Minister Alex Salmond has underlined the importance of a united front in the fight to preserve Scottish defence jobs.
The First Minister and all three main opposition party leaders (Labour, Conservatives, LibDems) have outlined the case for maintaining defence jobs and skills in Scotland and published a joint submission to the UK Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review.
First Minister Alex Salmond has underlined the importance of a united front in the fight to preserve Scottish defence jobs.
The First Minister and all three main opposition party leaders (Labour, Conservatives, LibDems) have outlined the case for maintaining defence jobs and skills in Scotland and published a joint submission to the UK Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Earlier this week, the Scottish Government reached agreement with the main opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament on the joint submission outlining the case for maintaining defence jobs and skills in Scotland. The document will now form the basis of the cross-party case taken forward with the UK Government.
FM Alex Salmond said:
“The more united Scotland’s voice is, the stronger it will be, which is why this cross-party submission is of vital importance.
“The document is about the compelling case for Scotland and Scottish jobs and skills. The different parties have different policies but this submission is about what unites us and what we do agree on.
“This is an issue that affects families and communities the length and breadth of Scotland, including the need to secure the aircraft carrier contract work being carried out on the Clyde and at Rosyth, and the RAF bases at Kinloss and Lossiemouth currently under threat from the UK Defence Review.”
The joint submission is the culmination of talks between Holyrood opposition representatives and the Scottish government. Mr Salmond had invited opposition leaders to meet with the SNP Ministers in order to form a united front after threats to two carrier contracts on the Clyde and at Rosyth emerged.
The Scottish government estimated that up to 10,000 jobs could be at risk if the UK coalition government cancelled the contracts. The joint submission acknowledges party differences over Trident but focuses on those areas were there is agreement.
Last weekend it emerged that there were rifts between UK defence chiefs over the merit of building two carriers but media reports suggest that Defence Minister Liam Fox is minded to continue with the builds.
