Rosyth’s “fantastic” shipbuilding workforce will be stripped of all military work if Scotland votes Yes, according to Labour’s shadow defence secretary.
Vernon Coaker, on a trip to Fife on Monday, said thousands of jobs would be lost through the Ministry of Defence’s policy of not building warships outside of the UK.
Alongside Scottish Labour deputy leader Anas Sarwar, he met staff working on the UK’s aircraft carriers in the shipyard and listened to their views on the prospect of independence.
Mr Coaker told The Courier: “There are 12,500 jobs directly related to MoD work and an estimated 40,000 dependent indirectly.
“Coming to Rosyth in particular highlights once again that the United Kingdom has never built a complex warship outside the UK.
“The truth of it is we have got aircraft carriers being built in Rosyth, there are thousands of jobs dependent on that going forward.”
This is the third time Mr Coaker has been to Rosyth in recent months, following visits with his party leader Ed Miliband and the official naming ceremony of the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.
At the latter event, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed the Queen Elizabeth’s sister ship, the Prince of Wales, would be finished in Fife no matter the outcome of the referendum.
“The skills, dedication and commitment of the workforce is absolutely fantastic,” said Mr Coaker.
“Scotland can be rightly proud of the work being done, as can the whole UK. That’s the message we are sending.”
SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson accused Labour of “starting to panic” and dismissed the jobs concern as a scare story which has “already been quashed”.
He said: “It is beyond belief Scottish Labour are claiming shipbuilding is safer in Westminster’s hands.
“The UK track record on defence in Scotland is appalling, with a multibillion-pound defence under-spend and the loss of more than 11,000 jobs in the last decade.
“With Scotland’s own procurement requirements as detailed in the white paper along with continued success in the international market, it is clear that shipbuilding has a bright future in an independent Scotland.
“Defence plans also include a phased build-up of personnel to some 15,000 regular and 5,000 reserve personnel across land, air and maritime forces over 10 years.
“After generations of closure and decline under Westminster, for the first time we will be able to develop a shipbuilding strategy tailored for Scotland following a Yes vote.”