Independence puts “Uist range jobs in jeopardy” 30/7/14
The former Secretary of State for Scotland, Jim Murphy, has claimed that the Uist
rocket range “could not conceivably survive” the break-
Mr Murphy as a UK Cabinet Minister
worked closely with the local authority in the Western Isles which orchestrated a
successful campaign to protect jobs at the range. In 2011, the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) agreed to give it a five year extension.
Speaking in Benbecula, where he met
some of the 200 employees of Qinetiq who operate the range, Mr Murphy said that it
had been “an incredibly close call” to save the jobs under the previous review which
guaranteed the range’s future until 2016.
He said: “The range has been here for 40
years and can have a bright future. But the hard fact is that 95% of the range’s
work is to support the United Kingdom MoD dnd if we are no longer in the United Kingdom,
the whole scenario changes.
“It was possible to make strategic arguments last time
round when Uist was pitted against Aberforth in Wales. But if we were a separate
state, the political arguments would become irresistible and the whole balance would
shift. The MoD spends around £14 million a year to support the Uist range and it
is not going to do that if we are a foreign country.”
Mr Murphy said he strongly believed
Uist was the best technical location for the range.
He said: “Every worker here knows that the arguments would change completely if we
were outside the UK when there is a viable alternative which would still be within
the UK.
“There are also issues of national security. The Scottish Nationalists’ death-
Mr Murphy, who is on a three day visit to
the Western Isles, maintained the choice was clear-
He said: “The Uist range and the 200 jobs are secure within the UK. They could not
conceivably survive the break-