UK Submarine Fleet
Douglas McAllister Excerpts(2 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) for securing this debate and allowing the House to consider the UK submarine fleet. It also allows me to recognise the importance of the submarine fleet to the UK’s defence in the uncertain global circumstances that we face, and the fact that the Royal Navy’s entire submarine fleet is based at His Majesty’s naval base commonly referred to as Faslane.
Although Faslane is just beyond the boundary of my West Dunbartonshire constituency, it is a major source of employment to my constituents. HMNB Clyde is one of Scotland’s largest employers, employing over 6,000 military and civilian personnel directly. Indirectly, some estimates suggest that it supports over 10,000 jobs. It is therefore impossible to overestimate the importance of Faslane to the economy of my constituency, or its strategic importance to the UK submarine fleet.
The fleet currently has nine submarines, with a further two Astute-class attack submarines due to enter service by the end of 2026. Those nine are a combination of five conventionally armed nuclear-powered attack submarines and four ballistic missile submarines of the Vanguard class. In 2009, the previous Labour Government took the welcome decision to base the entire submarine fleet at HMNB Clyde, designating Faslane as their home and developing it as a submarine centre of excellence. I encourage this Government to recommit to investing the funding required to accommodate the evolving submarine fleet as the UK prepares for the Dreadnought class to enter service in the early 2030s. That would continue to safeguard our nation’s defences and secure the future of the Faslane base and thousands of jobs for my constituents for a generation.
It was my great privilege and honour to visit Faslane in November with the Scottish Affairs Committee. Our visit included the unforgettable experience of having tea inside an Astute-class submarine with the captain and crew members. We discussed the obvious challenges and concerns about manpower and the potential future skills shortages in the submarine service, which I encourage the Government to focus on. However, my lasting memory will be of the conditions and how confined it is inside a submarine, with six men to a tiny cabin who are often out at sea for anything up to six months, completely detached from family and loved ones. We ask so much of our vital service personnel and they sacrifice so much to keep us all safe. I thank them for everything they do to keep our country safe in these challenging and worrying times.
In conclusion, I commend the Government for their commitment to maintaining the UK’s deterrent beyond 2030, which recognises the benefit to employment and the economy of not only Faslane, but BAE Systems in Glasgow and Rolls-Royce. They are our main industrial partners in the submarine project, supporting tens of thousands of highly skilled jobs in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland and across the UK. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar again on securing this debate.
Oral Answers to Questions
Douglas McAllister Excerpts(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
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John Healey
I can absolutely give the hon. Gentleman that assurance. I can also tell him that this is a national enterprise of the utmost importance that maintains the underpinning security for this nation, as it has done over decades, and that the management of our nuclear enterprise and the budget controls are in place and stronger than they have been for years.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
The naval base at Faslane and companies such as BAE Systems support thousands of jobs in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that we need to grow an integrated, innovative and resilient defence sector that will address problems such as skills shortages and the need for strategic long-term partnerships?
Remembrance and Veterans
Douglas McAllister Excerpts(3 months ago)
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Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
As a newly elected Member of this House, it was my great privilege and honour to attend the opening of the House of Commons garden of remembrance today, and to place my cross of remembrance there on behalf of my constituents. Across West Dunbartonshire, just as we do across the nation, we will gather to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms and protect our way of life.
One of the memorials that I will attend on Remembrance Sunday is at Clydebank town hall in my home town. Our town hall memorial contains the names of those fallen in all wars, and includes the names of five brothers, Andrew, Walter, James, John and Daniel Munn, who all perished in the first world war—five brothers, all lost. It is symbolic of the scale of suffering and the sacrifice of our nation.
Clydebank also suffered dreadfully during the second world war across the nights of 13 and 14 March 1941, the blitz. It suffered the worst destruction and civilian loss of life in all of Scotland. At least 1,200 people lost their lives, and of the 12,000 homes in Clydebank, only eight remained undamaged.
In West Dunbartonshire, we are deeply proud of our armed forces personnel, veterans and the families who support them. Theirs is the ultimate public service. As a Government, therefore, we must ensure that our veterans have access to the support they need. We must commit to supporting those who serve and have served us.
The Royal British Legion and Poppyscotland’s manifesto includes recommendations that the Government can take to improve the lives of our armed forces community, such as “Ask the question”, which seeks to ensure that all public bodies ask individuals whether they or an immediate family member have served in the armed forces. That would be recorded and published to understand needs and to provide appropriate support.
On both sides of the House, hon. Members can truly remember by ensuring that a better deal for our armed forces community remains high on our parliamentary agenda.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
We have heard many powerful and moving contributions, the last of which will be from Dave Robertson.