Britain's post-Cold War shipyard contraction

Did the United Kingdom close shipyards after the Cold War as the United States did?

Yes; Britain also contracted its shipbuilding base, and Appledore remains one visible part of that long-running industrial problem.

Britain closed naval shipyards after the Cold War rather than preserving every construction site as reserve capacity. Appledore is named as part of the continuing difficulty over what capability survives, closes, or later has to be recovered. A yard's disappearance removes facilities, workforce continuity, and production options together. The short exchange therefore sets up the next distinction between a nation's theoretical industrial potential and the shipbuilding capacity actually available when a crisis begins.