Did Labour empty the warship order book before the election?

Did the previous Labour government exhaust the available warship orders immediately before the election?

Duffy said no: the explanation was convenient but unconvincing, especially while the Navy still needed ships and the yards could build them.

Neville Trotter suggests that Labour took every available ship order out of the drawer immediately before the election and left none for its successor. That partisan claim has to be tested against the acknowledged shortage of escorts and minesweepers. If the Navy still requires more hulls, a new government can place additional orders instead of treating the inherited programme as a fixed ceiling. Duffy calls the explanation convenient and says it does not ring true. The exchange separates political blame over timing from the continuing strategic requirement and the yards' capacity to supply it.