Michael Fallon will put the Trident nuclear deterrent at the heart of the Holyrood election campaign this week when he accuses its opponents of jeopardising national security and thousands of skilled jobs.
The defence secretary will launch a vicious attack on Labour tomorrow in a speech to the Scottish Conservative conference, claiming that Jeremy Corbyn’s party is making “desperate” arguments against the deterrent as a “fig leaf” to hide its ideological opposition.
He will ridicule suggestions that underwater drones could make the Clyde-based submarines which carry the weapons redundant.
He will suggest that if Mr Corbyn pursues a plan of keeping the submarines but not arming them he could fill the missile tubes with the Ed stone, the 8ft-high carving of Labour’s key 2015 manifesto pledges.
The attack will be aimed specifically at Labour as the Tories attempt to challenge Kezia Dugdale’s party for second place in the May election. However, it will also cover the SNP, which opposes Trident renewal. Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, attended an anti-Trident demonstration in London at the weekend. Her appearance incensed the GMB union, which represents workers on the Clyde.
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Mr Fallon will say that opponents of the deterrent need to be “honest about the consequences”. He will say: “They would make the world more dangerous, not safer. Thousands of highly skilled jobs would disappear. Small businesses would lose valuable business. Manufacturing skills would be lost. That’s why they are a threat to our national security.”
Mr Fallon is likely to incense opponents further today when he announces the next tranche of funding in the successor programme. He will confirm that the bill will reach almost £4 billion through a further £642 million of spending.
Of the £642 million, he is expected to say, half will be invested in new industry facilities to provide the correct infrastructure for the building of the replacement submarines.
The sites that will mainly benefit from this money include BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness and Rolls-Royce in Derby, where £346 million will be invested. The remaining £296 million of the package represents activities which were originally planned for a later phase in the programme.
Mr Fallon will also confirm that one of two new Typhoon squadrons will be based at Lossiemouth.
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The main House of Commons vote on replacing the submarines has yet to take place, and the government’s decision to proceed with preparatory spending in advance of it has angered political opponents.
It is understood that Mr Fallon had wanted to push ahead with the vote but was stopped by No 10. Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, is also believed to have called for a delay in the decision.
Mr Fallon’s speech to conference will make clear that he wants to put it front and centre of the Scottish parliament election campaign. He will say: “Labour argue this is a political virility symbol that we would never use. They couldn’t be more wrong.
“Our nuclear deterrent provides the ultimate guarantee of our security and our way of life. We use it every day, to deter a nuclear attack, nuclear blackmail and extreme threats that cannot be countered by any other means. Labour claims that there is no one to deter. That is simply wrong. There is no escaping the fact that nuclear weapons exist. There are 17,000 of them around the world. They can’t be disinvented.
“In a desperate attempt to keep their party together, Labour has even suggested building the submarines but not having any missiles in them.
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“If you left the missile tubes empty then you would need to fill them with ballast, like concrete. Finally, they have found a use for the Ed stone.
“They even suggested using them as a £31 billion taxi service. You don’t have to be Uber to see that that is an unsustainable business model.
“Now they are claiming underwater drones will make submarines redundant. Tell that to the Americans, the Russians, and the Chinese who are all modernising their nuclear-armed submarines. Perhaps these drones will be so sophisticated they can track down Nessie while they are at it.”