I have just read a very informative article on Save The Royal Navy website documenting the potential impact to the RN (and general shipbuilding) of the potential loss of H&W as a shipbuilder, the article can be found
here
One fact I hadn't realised (in the article) was that.....
"H&W were central to the British consortium bidding to build the Fleet Solid Support ship. Boris Johnson has appointed Anne-Marie Trevelyn MP as the new Defence Procurement Minister. She is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Shipbuilding which advocates that the FSS be built in the UK and not open to foreign competition. In her brief tenure as Defence Secretary, Penny Mordaunt also advocated “buying British” and there is appears to be political momentum to ensure the FSS is built in a UK yard."
The optimist in me says all may not be lost - it seems there are some damned good reason for retaining H&W as a shipbuilder according to the report, considering H&W are supplying BAE Systems with parts for the new Dreadnought submarines (as well as owning the UKs largest dry dock - which is big enough to take QE / PoW) - there is also much political interest, and of course so much potential for future New Builds of warships/auxiliaries in the very near future.
One lives in hope that this is a success story, my home town of Wallsend turned into a ghost town when Swan Hunters finally closed the doors in 2006.