BARROW’S standing as a major player on the global defence stage was reaffirmed on Thursday when new prime minister Andy Burnham, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, First Sea Lord General Jenkins and Chief of Defence Nuclear Maddy McTernan visited BAE Systems.
The visit came just days after the PM and Defence Sec took office. It’s understood that no other British premier has made a beeline for Barrow so quickly and it was a privilege to accompany them on a tour of the shipyard, meeting managing director Steve Timms and group chief executive Dr Charles Woodburn.
The designing, building, testing and commissioning of Astute-class attack boats, Dreadnought-class submarines and the future SSN-AUKUS fleet are the backbone of our local economy and a great source of pride to our community. This pride shone through when Wes and Andy spoke with apprentices and unions and the Defence Secretary spoke of how much this impacted his visit, along with ribbing me over how much I lobbied him as Health Sec and how little peace I’d give him in his new role – he’s not wrong!
As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AUKUS and a member of the House of Commons Defence Committee, I have the privilege of good insight into the domestic economic benefits of submarine production – something I discussed with the PM.
It was incredibly positive to hear the PM raise the poor transport and infrastructure in our area and we discussed the A590, rail links and the opportunity a barrage across the bay could deliver.
The Prime Minister and Defence Secretary were updated on the progress of the submarine programmes and how the delays to orders damage efficiency and our town.
The PM was very aware that it was the Conservative and Lib Dem coalition pausing the order in 2010 that resulted in the lengthy delays to Dreadnought.
Readers might know the Dreadnought boats will be called HMS Dreadnought, HMS Valiant, HMS Warspite and HMS King George VI.
These vessels will replace the four aging Vanguard-class submarines.
Labour understands that the security of our nation in an increasingly unstable world is linked to the success of our submarines programmes.
Dreadnought is central to both our national security and the future prosperity of Barrow and Furness.
These boats will maintain the UK’s continuous at-sea deterrent for decades to come, while sustaining thousands of highly-skilled jobs in our communities.
Our challenge is to make sure that investment in housing, transport, healthcare and skills keep pace with the vital work our communities are being asked to deliver.
A highlight of the visit was seeing how much fun the PM and Defence Secretary had while apprentices challenged them to accurately bend a steel bar… Politicians are extremely competitive!
Since entering Downing Street a fortnight ago, Andy Burnham has been a bit busy.
In that short time he has made crucial announcements that have been greeted with approval.
Among them is the removal of VAT from domestic electricity bills from October 1; the capping of single bus tickets at £2; the establishing of a new No 10 base in Manchester; the cutting of business rates by 20 per cent to help pubs, clubs and live music venues; the raising of pay and the improvement of training for social carers and a plan for secondary schools pupils in England to study subjects like manufacturing and AI in addition to core academic learning.
Andy has also given a cast-iron commitment to NATO and pledged to prioritise military spending.
Andy has shown himself to be a good friend of Barrow and Furness, a big fan of the shipyard and an increasingly popular leader of our nation.