UK Defence Secretary accuses SNP of 'student union politics' over defence funding

John Healey said he would step in if the SNP continues to block a £2.5 million grant for a specialist welding centre in Glasgow.

It comes as the UK Government prepares to publish its strategic defence review on Monday, which will include plans to spend £1.5 billion on at least six new defence factories while creating 1,800 jobs across the UK.

Specialist equipment worth £11 million was set to be provided by Rolls-Royce as part of a project on the banks of the Clyde, which would have helped boost Scottish shipbuilding.

However, a key grant is reportedly at risk due to an SNP ban on "munitions" funding. This is believed to be because the Scottish Government’s definition of weapons or ammunition would include a “military submarine”.

The Scottish Government refuses to provide funding to firms directly for the creation of arms, but does offer cash for other things, such as diversifying away from the munitions industry and apprenticeships.

According to The Times, Steve Carlier, president of submarines at Rolls-Royce, has written to First Minister John Swinney warning the Clyde project “cannot continue” without the public funding.

"We recognise the longstanding position of the Scottish Government to not provide support for the manufacture of munitions but we are dismayed that this position is being applied to projects that support the construction of naval vessels,” he wrote.

"Without the funding from Scottish Enterprise the project cannot continue, and the facility will not be built and resourced in Scotland."

Mr Healey criticised the lack of funding. “This is a massive industrial opportunity for Scotland, to provide good, skilled jobs for working class kids,” he said. “It’s outrageous the SNP is blocking a key grant to establish a specialist welding centre in Glasgow.

“That’s why, if the SNP continue to block this grant, the UK Labour government will step in and fund it – we won’t walk by on the other side when the opportunity is there to back Scottish jobs and industry.”

Appearing on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, he was asked what he made of the Scottish Government’s ban on munitions funding given the global situation.

“It’s the first time I’ve come across it, but it really strikes me as student union politics,” he said.

“This is not a serious government concerned about the opportunities for young people for the future, concerned about the skills base of Scotland, or indeed the industry and innovation in the future that means that Scotland has a big part to play both in strengthening the British industrial base - as we will through more defence investment - but as it does at the moment, to play a bigger part also in reinforcing the security and the strength of our armed forces for the future as well.”

Mairi Gougeon, the SNP Rural Affairs Secretary, who was appearing on the same programme, said: “I think the key difference here between ourselves and the UK Government is that when we have principles, we stick to them.”

The Scottish Government, she went on to say, “completely understands” the “really unprecedented threats” the UK faces on the world stage. She said First Minister John Swinney welcomed the increased defence spending announced by the Prime Minister.

“But that doesn’t mean that we can’t also still maintain the policy positions that we’ve had for quite a long time and have been long-standing within our party, that we don’t support the use of public finance for the manufacture of munitions and neither do we support that for nuclear weapons,” she said.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are committed to ensuring Scotland is the home of manufacturing innovation, but the Scottish Government’s long-standing policy position is that it does not use public money to support the manufacture of munitions.

“We recognise the important role of the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors in the Scottish economy and we regularly engage with a range of companies, alongside ADS Scotland as the industry body.

“We are investing up to £2 million to develop engineering skills in the Glasgow City Region, designed by the Clyde maritime cluster in partnership with Skills Development Scotland.”

Former SNP MP Stewart McDonald said his party’s policy should change. “The world has changed utterly over the past few years, and we must show voters we understand that and can change too,” he said in a post on X.

“We aren’t just spectators to a changing security landscape, but contributors with the ability to shape events – not least when it comes to supporting Scotland’s defence sector, which employs over 30,000 people and contributes around £1.5bn annually to our economy.

“It’s a critical industry that we should not be ashamed of supporting and national policy should reflect that.”

Mr McDonald, who was his party’s defence spokesman in Westminster until 2022, added: “Indeed, it’s worth noting that the First Minister publicly welcomed the recent UK-Ukraine missile production agreement that involves the defence industry in Northern Ireland, yet in Scotland we have a policy that wouldn’t allow that. That is plainly wrong and should change.

“Every country in the world understands that your national institutions - in our case, SNIB [Scottish National Investment Bank] or other public agencies - should support your national interests, including your security interests. This is not controversial.”