THE parlous state of the UK and Scottish naval shipbuilding industry can be traced to two main causes - first, the inability of successive UK governments to produce a coherent and effective long-term defence policy, and second, the gross incompetence of the dysfunctional Ministry of Defence at Whitehall ("Scots yards fight for future as 1000 jobs face the axe", The Herald, November 6).

The most recent example of such political influence and departmental ineptitude is the nonsensical decision to squander billions on two massive and un-needed aircraft carriers, the first of which when completed will have no aircraft and the second immediately moth-balled. Although their construction brought some years of work to Clydeside, the downside result is that the long-awaited orders for the next class of Type 26 destroyers, a far greater naval requirement, cannot be afforded at present when they could by now be providing years of regular work for both Clyde shipyards.

During my 25 years at Yarrows (now the anonymously-named Scotstoun) we built a succession of Type 21, 22 and 23 frigates for the Royal Navy, suited for a variety of naval requirements. We also actively sought orders around the world, and built frigates for such diverse customers as New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, Chile and even Ghana.

Any gaps in the workload were filled with small non-naval contracts, not always profitable, but keeping the workforce occupied and overheads covered.

Throughout these years Yarrows also survived constant political interference, resulting in two years of being half-owned and grossly mismanaged by Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, five years within the nationalised British Shipbuilders, and then several private owners and confusing name-changes. Now as a former employee it is sad to see the future of this famous shipyard and Govan again under threat, through no fault of the management or the skilled workforce but because of the incompetence of others who will suffer none of the consequences.

I am confident that an independent Scottish government could put together a logical defence policy based on our specific needs to protect our offshore oil and fishing industries and our coastline, while making a modest contribution to Nato's need to patrol the north Atlantic and other waters. Building such ships could provide years of regular work for our two Clyde-based yards and the 3000 employees.

Iain AD Mann,

7 Kelvin Court, Glasgow.

THOSE who claim that Westminster would not buy military ships from Scotland in the event of independence are less than convincing. The UK buys the Trident missile system from the US and buys military aircraft from other countries, so this is hardly a security principle.

The real issue is that there will be a declining amount of work coming from the Ministry of Defence even if Scotland remains Unionist. The cost of the white elephant aircraft carriers has doubled and if the UK goes ahead with the new Trident replacement, this will tie up 30% of the total capital budget for all the services by the end of the decade. Scotland will get none of this work. The submarines will be built in Barrow, maintenance is done at Devonport and in the US, and the warheads are made and serviced at Aldermaston/Burghfield.

In a shrinking defence budget, other shipbuilding will inevitably be cut.

BAE Systems will not be a passive player in deciding where any ships are built. It is its capital which is tied up in the yards. It knows and the trade unions know that the future depends on diversification. That is where state help needs to go and it is at least as likely that this help will come from an independent Scottish state as from Whitehall.

Isobel Lindsay,

9 Knocklea Place, Biggar.

WHEN I think of the additional misery of lay-offs on top of the years of austerity inflicted upon so many by a Government which has shown little understanding of the genuine misery suffered by the poor, many of whom are in work, there are some lines attributed to Burns that haunt me.

"Is there not some chosen curse,

Some hidden thunder in the stores of Heaven,

Red with uncommon wrath to blast the men

Who owe their greatness to their Country's ruin!"

Yet there are those who left us in this mess, in particular Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, who must be included in the list of those "who owe their greatness to their country's ruin". The failure of the previous Labour Government to have any long-term industrial strategy but to rely instead on the false fickle values of casino banking has brought the shipbuilding industry, like so many before it, into near ruin.

Yet with an arrogance that borders on contempt they seek to advise governments, business leaders and the Better Together campaign on the way forward for our people. Their reputation for economic "greatness" lies in tatters on the banks of the Clyde.

Thom Cross,

18 Needle Green, Carluke.

WHY did it take SNP MP Angus Robertson at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) to raise the issue of 1775 job losses announced at BAE Systems in Portsmouth and in Scotland?

Where was the Opposition leader, Ed Miliband, on this issue?

Mr Miliband choose to talk about the National Health Service in England and whether it would cope with the increased demand as winter approaches.

Yes, we all know how important the NHS is, but surely Mr Miliband should have been raising the job crisis in our shipyards?

As the unions enter discussions to fight for every job, perhaps it is worth remembering that Mr Miliband was elected leader of the Labour Party by the unions, whose members at BAE Systems would surely have expected him to have raised their plight at PMQs.

This is more evidence that Mr Miliband and Labour are not identifying with the voters.

Catriona C Clark,

52 Hawthorn Drive, Banknock, Falkirk.