Kieron Green

The STUC's General Council pledged to campaign at the highest level for the retention of RAF bases in Scotland as delegates heard of the davastating effect their closures will have on the local economy and local public services.

Supporting the Moray TUC motion, UNISON Scotland's Kieron Green said, "I work at Lossiemouth High School. Many pupils and staff at the school come from RAF families. I have seen first hand the damage being caused to our communities in Moray as we have been left in suspense for the last six months over the future of RAF Lossiemouth".

Already local businesses have had to close, Kieron told delegates. House prices have slumped and local services are under threat. This comes on top of cuts already taking place in the public sector.

"The community have organised a fantastic campaign to highlight these concerns - a march and rally in November which the STUC attended, and a petition which we delivered to Downing Street on a battle bus that I was on earlier this year", said Kieron.

"The government might have hoped that by delaying the decision we would disappear from the public eye, but we are ensuring this will not happen.

"We have been deeply let down by the ConDem government, obsessed with making ideological cuts without thought to the effect they have on ordinary people. For the sake of the future of Moray, as well as other areas in Scotland similarly affected, I urge you to support the motion."

And Congress did!