CEP: Scots-led Ministry of Defence continues to favour Scottish naval shipyards at England’s expense
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2008 09:34
The MoD press notice last Friday sounded sweet and innocent enough: ‘The Royal Navy frigate HMS Campbeltown left her base port in Plymouth last week for exercises off the Scottish coast’, until, as CEP Secretary and West Country organiser Veronica Newman pointed out to her Devon members, one read the next line: ‘The ship is currently heading into Rosyth for a 12-month overhaul.’
‘What that means,’ stated Mrs Newman, ‘is that multi-million-pound refit work on a West Country warship has been switched from Devonport to Scotland. It is the first time that a refit of any Type 22 frigate has been undertaken outside Devonport since the ships entered service in the 1980s; and what it means is more employment for Scottish naval shipyards and, as the GMB convenors in the Devonport dockyards have said, a loss of work for those in England.
‘It isn’t an accident that this has happened. It is all taking place under the watchful eye of the UK Scottish Secretary of State for Defence, Des Browne MP for Kilmarnock. It is his department, and specifically his department’s Surface Ship Supports arrangements section, that has agreed with Babcock Marine this switch of work from England to Scotland. Babock Marine has been responsible for warship upkeep since it took over Devonport Management Ltd (DML)’. It paid £350 million for DML in July 2007 but then in February of this year announced plans to axe up to 600 posts – more than 10 per cent of its Plymouth workforce.
‘Mr Browne’s decisions are all part of a pattern’, stated Mrs Newman. ‘There is growing evidence of preference for employment in the Scottish naval shipyards over those of England, even though historically it has been the English navy over centuries which has defended these islands and English sailors who have been among the greatest naval explorers and sea captains in world history. England had a navy under Alfred the Great when Scotland was still just a country of scattered clans. Only in July of this year Mr Browne’s ministry announced that Scotland will get 64% of the work on the two new giant aircraft carriers while England, with 80% of the UK population, will get a mere 34%.
‘|As the Warships International Fleet Review had said on receiving notice of this switch of work from Devonport to Rosyth, ‘It does seem extraordinary bearing in mind the experience that Devonport has in refitting Type 22s since they entered service.’ However, said Mrs Newman, given how Scotland has benefited at England’s expense since devolution, it is not surprising at all.
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“.. historically it has been the English navy over centuries which has defended these islands and English sailors who have been among the greatest naval explorers and sea captains in world history. England had a navy under Alfred the Great when Scotland was still just a country of scattered clans.”
Just what was Alfred defending in between baking? Atlantis perhaps, as far as I can detect the only island England would be defending apart from the land mass of England, would be the Isle of Wight and that’s so close to the mainland you could probably throw rocks at any rowdy foreigners.
As regards the comment about a collection of scattered clans in Scotland, I am afraid England was in much the same state during this period, comprising of small “Kingdoms” many foreign owned. Alfred was King of Wessex, who did indeed expand his realm by excellent organization and tactics when fighting “Johnie Foreigner” in Mercia and then later in his reign, into Southern England and the Isle of Wight where of course he would need a boat.
I am surprised that to date our contributor “Wessexman”, has not already clarified this from a Wessex historical perspective on their greatest King.
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:53 pmYou’ve been along time hiding ! i see no boats ,Ships laden with trade Bristol bound ,Centuries of trade with the Foreigners, but No freebies for the Haggis bashers !
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:57 pmUmmm – okay Wessex. As ever, I think your *remarkable* grip of the English language has left me, if not everyone who can actually read English, a little dazed and confused.
Anyway. Well said Dalriada. Veronica Newman is clearing a sandwich short of the complete picnic basket.
The Sea Wolf Cochrane? David Mitchell, pre-union? Charles John Napier? Admiral Keith Stewart? And what about other Admirals that served in the British Navy? Sir John Charles Dalrymple-Hay, David Milne and the like. Though my personal fav would be Samuel Greig, good son of Russia.
In any case, I’m only really a fan of Scottish shipyards creating Scottish ships, with which we can sail in our own vast waters – and not military either! Let Devonport keep her ships! We support you Ms. Newman! Go on sons of Dyfneint! ;O)
http://users.senet.com.au/~dewnans/
October 5th, 2008 at 2:03 pmI dont know why you bother to keep Complaining re our site, about the things “English ” you just dont understand ! you just keep waving the tartan flag when ever you can, head clouded with flower of scotland, we heard it before , from know all scots.
October 5th, 2008 at 5:38 pmhms campbeltown…what a silly name,where did that name come from?
October 6th, 2008 at 8:01 pm