Why Clydebank has one of the world’s worst records for asbestos-related diseases
Christine Jardine’s mother is among those remembered on the Asbestos Memorial Wall in Clydebank
There is a memorial wall in Clydebank that I like to visit whenever I can. Often with my sisters. To the top left-hand side of one of five shiny metallic blocks is Mum’s name.
We often joke that she would have rolled her eyes that it uses her official name, Agnes rather than “Nessie” which everyone knew her as. It’s difficult to pin down exactly what the emotion is that comes with seeing her name there among the 500 victims of asbestos-related diseases in Clydebank.
Every International Workers Day, there is a ceremony at the site to remember those who lost their lives because of industrial injuries and related conditions like mesothelioma. This year it will have had extra poignance as the death was announced this week of Tony Worthington, the local MP who was instrumental in the campaign for recognition and compensation.
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But the battle is not yet over. The latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive show that asbestos-related conditions claimed more than 2,000 lives in 2023. That was only a fraction of the 1.9 million working people suffering from a work-related illness with more than 40 million working days lost due to work-related illness and injury in the same year at an estimated cost of £22.9 billion.
There were 124 lives lost. One every three days. Those are, of course, only numbers but every one of which represents a family who has lost a loved one and a breadwinner. Their lives and possibly their own futures will have been changed forever.
I vividly remember going with my Mum to meet Clydeside Action on Asbestos for the first time shortly after she had been diagnosed. Her condition was, it was believed, the result of having worked in the office of a Glasgow shipyard before she married and then for years in the office of Clydebank’s iconic John Brown shipyard.
As we walked in, she was greeted by the man who had been the yard’s shop steward. They had shared their working lives and now the condition which would take their lives.
They were far from alone. Many of the names on that Asbestos Memorial Wall are ones I am familiar with from my childhood. As a community, we have one of the world’s worst records for asbestos-related diseases – partly a legacy of having built some of the world’s most iconic ships, including the legendary Three Queens: Mary, Elizabeth, and the QE2.
The dust from the asbestos used in construction was carried home on their overalls by the workforce. We also had an asbestos factory in the town. My personal knowledge of the cruelty of asbestos diseases and determination to tackle it comes from that heritage.
Since becoming an MP, I have channelled much of my energy into working for those many victims and their families, into raising awareness and keeping up the fight against the manufacturers who ignored the known dangers.
There are many other areas where we need to continue to take action to protect those who work in circumstances which should never be dangerous. I am proud that my town chose to recognise the price that its families paid, but angry that the cost for us was so high.
Christine Jardine is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West
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