DEFENCE Secretary Malcolm Rifkind is being warned forcefully by
Scottish peers on all sides that his decision on the future of Rosyth
dockyard is political dynamite.
Their campaign built up over last weekend and took on a new urgency
after the System Three Herald poll revealed the fragility of the Tory
position in Scotland.
Mr Rifkind is receiving a series of letters from up to 30 influential
and active Scottish peers who are pointing out that Scotland cannot be
expected to provide a home for decommissioned nuclear submarines like
Polaris if the Trident maintenance contract does not go to Rosyth.
Their letters have been copied to Sir Michael Hirst, the new Tory
chairman in Scotland, and to Mr Richard Ryder, the Government Chief
Whip. The Government is expected to be questioned on the issue in the
Lords on June 7, although Mr Rifkind's final decision is not expected
until July.
The peers are quoting repeated assurances in the 1980s on Rosyth's
long-term future from Government Ministers such as Mr Michael Heseltine,
Mr Norman Lamont, and Mr George Younger, when they were fighting off the
CND case for ridding Scotland of the hazards of nuclear weapons and
vessels.
In a Lords debate in February, Lord MacKay of Ardbrecknish, the former
chief executive of the Tory party in Scotland, won acclaim when he said:
''One does not have to get up very early in the morning to realise that
the anti-nuclear campaigners will quickly have a slogan: 'If we cannot
have your living submarines, we do not wish your dead ones.' ''
The peers' message is designed to be conveyed to the Prime Minister in
the belief that the rival bids of Rosyth and Devonport are now so close
that Scottish political considerations in the light of previous
ministerial promises must be met. They believe that, while some Tory
seats may be endangered in the south-west of England if Devonport fails
in its bid for Trident, the future of the Union could be at stake if
Rosyth loses.
Yesterday, the System Three-Herald poll indicating that more than 80%
of Scots favour devolution or independence, appeared to add weight to
this argument. Scottish Tories at Westminster believe that Ministers are
looking at the respective savings involved in the Rosyth and Devonport
bids over a 15-year period. Rosyth is said to be the more attractive
proposition over the first five years.
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