The UK Labour government increased investment in defence strengthening our national security in an increasingly unstable world and delivering jobs and investment in Scotland.
Scotland's unique skills in engineering, manufacturing and shipbuilding make it a major UK defence hub and the industry already supports around 25,600 jobs.
This increase in funding from the Labour government will breathe fresh life into the industry and create opportunities for Scots.
And as Labour was investing billions of pounds in Scotland, what was the SNP government doing? Sending shipbuilding work over to Poland.
A contract to build seven new ferries for our islands wasn't awarded to any of Scotland's world-class shipyards instead it went to a yard in Gdansk.
The SNP's publicly-owned yard failed to win the contract, as its workers clean up the mess the Nats made of the last ferry contract.
Jobs, investment and opportunities sent overseas by the SNP. So much for "Stronger for Scotland".
The contrast between our two governments couldn't be clearer and this isn't a one-off. The system built by John Swinney and the SNP is rigged against Scottish businesses, jobs and growth.
Elsewhere in the UK, public bodies must take account of the social value when awarding contracts - meaning they need to consider benefits like fair work, job creation, economic growth, environmental impacts and wider opportunities.
The Labour government is strengthening this as part of its plan to Make Work Pay and setting up a Social Value Council to enshrine these principles into public procurement.
But Scotland is the only nation in the UK where there is not a minimum 10 per cent weight given to social value when awarding contracts. In fact, there is no requirement to place any weight on social value at all.
So contracts wi...
Scotland's unique skills in engineering, manufacturing and shipbuilding make it a major UK defence hub and the industry already supports around 25,600 jobs.
This increase in funding from the Labour government will breathe fresh life into the industry and create opportunities for Scots.
And as Labour was investing billions of pounds in Scotland, what was the SNP government doing? Sending shipbuilding work over to Poland.
A contract to build seven new ferries for our islands wasn't awarded to any of Scotland's world-class shipyards instead it went to a yard in Gdansk.
The SNP's publicly-owned yard failed to win the contract, as its workers clean up the mess the Nats made of the last ferry contract.
Jobs, investment and opportunities sent overseas by the SNP. So much for "Stronger for Scotland".
The contrast between our two governments couldn't be clearer and this isn't a one-off. The system built by John Swinney and the SNP is rigged against Scottish businesses, jobs and growth.
Elsewhere in the UK, public bodies must take account of the social value when awarding contracts - meaning they need to consider benefits like fair work, job creation, economic growth, environmental impacts and wider opportunities.
The Labour government is strengthening this as part of its plan to Make Work Pay and setting up a Social Value Council to enshrine these principles into public procurement.
But Scotland is the only nation in the UK where there is not a minimum 10 per cent weight given to social value when awarding contracts. In fact, there is no requirement to place any weight on social value at all.
So contracts wi...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 24, 2025