Scottish shipyards have been sold down the river by the UK Govermment.

During the independence referendum, the Tory government promised that 13 new Type 26 frigates would be built on the Clyde.

A new frigate factory was set to be built too. But in 2015, 13 frigates became eight. As a consolation, a new promise was made for five general purpose frigates.

In February 2017, the frigate factory was dropped.

Now, the order for the additional general purpose frigates could go elsewhere too. In fact, a new £1 billion order for three Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships is already going out to full international tender.

This is despite UK government claims in 2012 that, “No British warship has been built in a foreign country for the last 50 years and we do not intend to start doing that now.”

The recent statement from the UK Labour Party that ships shouldn’t be built in the other side of the world was welcome, but why did it take decades to realise this after every shipyard in Inverclyde closed apart from Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow.

I was though bitterly disappointed that when referencing who would benefit from ‘RFA’ orders not continuing to go to countries like Korea, Ferguson Marine was snubbed as a potential bidder for such work.

People in Inverclyde will remember that Scott Lithgow built the Fort Grange and Fort Austin RFA vessels. These ships were built in the late 1970s and are still in service today and are expected to be in service well into the 2020s. This in no short measure testimony to the many people locally that worked on the construction of these vessels.

Any statement that in the future we should not outsource shipbuilding to the other side of the world is welcome, I just wish it didn’t take decades to realise that and maybe we would still have a vibrant shipbuilding industry in Greenock as well as Port Glasgow.

Local man Robert Buirds, pictured, has done a great job putting Inchgreen Drydock in the spotlight.

If Inverclyde is to build upon the shipbuilding successes of Ferguson Marine since the Scottish Government helped the yard stay open in 2014, then Inchgreen must be centre to these plans.

I’ve been very impressed with the work that Dundee is carrying out of late. The construction of the multi million pound V&A museum, hundreds of new jobs coming to the area and lots of new investment. The Leader of Dundee Council Cllr John Alexander has been at the heart of this work.

When asked what it is they’re doing up there that Inverclyde aren’t doing the answer was pretty simple. Politicians from all political parties and none are absolutely committed to working together to bring investment to their area.

When it comes to an issue like inchgreen there should be no politics. What we need now, more than ever in Inverclyde, is a new vision to re-industrialise Inverclyde. More houses along the Clydeside might have great views but they’re not the answer to us seeing what our greatest asset is in Inverclyde - our waterfront.

The vision of once again building big ships on our part of the Clyde shouldn’t be dismissed as a pipe dream, it’s an aspiration that could bring much needed jobs to the area, and there can be no greater beacon of hope for Inverclyde’s young people than the sight of the launching of many more Clydebuilt ships in Inverclyde. This is a vision surely we can all come together to support ?