How Labour is showing its commitment to Scottish workers and the defence of this country – Jackie Baillie

It is always a great opportunity to speak with friends from across the UK, to share ideas and to speak directly with members, all of whom want to see both our party and country succeed.

With Labour in government at Westminster, it is also an opportunity to have a front-row seat for major policy announcements and to listen to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet ministers set out the direction over the coming year.

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The importance of Faslane

I was particularly interested to hear from our new Chancellor John Healey on Monday – someone who has immense experience and is well respected across the party.

During his speech, the Chancellor confirmed that three new floating docks for the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet at HMNB Clyde in Faslane will be built in the UK. I understand the importance of Faslane, not only as a military site for the defence of our country, but as a major employer in my Dumbarton constituency.

This investment, worth around £6 billion, is a clear commitment by this UK Labour government to back our home-grown industries. That is important, not just in bringing forward a new age of industrialisation in the UK, but also ensuring that we have the resources required to defend our country for decades to come.

We have seen the threats we face with the aggression of Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and we must be alive to those.

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A party that stands proudly for workers

By building these floating docks in the UK, we support our Scottish workforce, while making that vital investment in our nation’s defence. I am delighted that this work is part of a wider £15bn upgrade of Faslane over the coming decade.

And I was also pleased that the announcement was welcomed by GMB Scotland. The union has rightly pointed out that for too long, UK contracts have been sent around the world.

That is the difference that a UK Labour government can make – putting workers here at the heart of our industrial strategy, instead of sending contracts overseas.

It is also important that Scottish and UK government ministers now work together to deliver the investment required to support the necessary apprenticeships and training to help workers at UK yards.

This latest investment also builds on the work already achieved by the UK government, which backed a deal by Navantia to complete the takeover of the fabrication facility at Methil in Fife last year. In backing this deal, 350 jobs in Scotland were secured, demonstrating the tangible impact this will have on the communities we serve as politicians.

I know that my colleague, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, along with Scottish Labour MP Richard Baker, has urged Navantia to bid for work as part of this new investment project, and I would join that call.

Labour will always be a party that stands proudly for workers – and I am delighted that the Chancellor is demonstrating that with action.

Jackie Baillie is MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader and her party’s spokesperson for health