Scotland being ‘short-changed’ over defence spending – SNP

Scotland is being “short-changed” on defence spending by the UK Labour Government, the SNP has said, as figures show some areas of England see as much as three times more spend per person than Scotland.

The stats from the House of Commons Library show that in 2024-25, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) spent £2.1 billion with defence firms in Scotland, amounting to £390 per capita.

At the same time the MoD spent £6.6 billion in south-west England, or £1,120 per capita, and £7.9 billion in south-east England, amounting to £810 per capita.

In total the MoD spent a total of £31.7 billion with UK defence firms last year, amounting to £460 per capita across the country as a whole.

SNP Westminster defence spokesman Dave Doogan branded the figures “indefensible”.

“What these new figures on defence spending clearly demonstrate is Scotland is being short-changed by Westminster – quite frankly it is indefensible for the Labour Government to plough three times more cash into defence in the South West of England compared to Scotland,” he said.

“Despite all the condescending bragging from the Prime Minister and a string of Labour ministers about their supposed investment in Scottish defence, the official figures are in black and white and they don’t lie.

“Snarky Westminster politicians continually demand Scotland’s unquestioning gratitude despite Scottish taxpayers contributing every penny that we then ultimately receive in defence expenditure, but now we know the truth – thankfully international investors continue to show their confidence by placing significant orders.”

He said overseas orders reflected the “engineering excellence, design quality, competitiveness and innovation” of defence manufacturers in Scotland.

He went on: “This is precisely why the Norwegian government placed their £10 billion frigate order here in Scotland.

“In so doing Norway have ensured thousands of jobs in Scotland into the future while equipping their Navy with the world’s best anti-submarine ship.

“This competitiveness is something Scotland’s defence sector should be hugely proud of.

“Scotland is home to some of the world’s most advanced manufacturers despite a Westminster system that constantly short-changes us.”

John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence, said: “It’s a joke for the SNP to say they’re remotely on the side of UK Defence: they’ve actively opposed our nuclear deterrent and actively opposed defence jobs in Scotland.

“This Labour Government won the biggest warship deal in British history, worth £10 billion, and securing over 2,000 Scottish shipbuilding jobs for the next 15 years. We’re investing in 130 high tech defence projects across Scotland.

“We launched the Strategic Defence Review on the Clyde. And we stepped in to save a defence welding skills centre after the SNP refused to fund it. In this era of increasing threat, we are proud of Scotland’s big part in our UK national security.

“Labour is delivering for defence and delivering for Scotland, while the SNP didn’t bother even discussing defence at their last party conference.”