Not providing public cash for arms ‘student union politics', says Healey

Independent

2 days ago

The Scottish Government's policy of not providing public funding for munitions has been branded 'student union politics' by the UK's Defence Secretary.
The comments come as the Prime Minister is due to announce the outcome of a major defence review in a visit to Scotland on Monday.
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.
The policy has again come to the fore as a result of a wrangle over £2.5 million of funding required by Rolls-Royce to create a specialist welding centre in Glasgow, with the UK Government saying it would provide the cash if the Edinburgh administration did not.
Asked about the policy on BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'It's the first time I've come across (such a policy), but it really strikes me as student union politics.
'This is not a serious Government concerned about the opportunities for young people for the future, concerned about the skills base for Scotland, or indeed the industry and innovation in the future that means that Scotland has a big part to play in strengthening the British industrial base, as we will through more defence investment.'
Rolls-Royce, he said, is 'central to much of the most important military equipment that keeps all of us safe' and the welding centre would not only be about work in munitions.
Mr Healey added: 'It's about support for Scotland's shipyard pipeline as well as essential skills, new opportunities for young people.
'I can hardly believe this is the case that the Scottish nationalist Government are saying they won't step in to provide some of the funding to make sure this new welding skills centre can get up and running.
'And if the Scottish SNP Government won't step up to support skills and the future of jobs in Scotland, then we will.'
Speaking later on the same programme, Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the welding centre was never eligible for funding thanks to the 'long-standing' policy.
She added: '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, but pointed out that 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.
Later on Sunday, former SNP MP Stewart McDonald urged his party to have a 'renewed defence debate that moves us beyond our old slogans and comfort zones'.
'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.'
He added that public agencies in Scotland, including the Scottish National Investment Bank, should be able to spend on defence.