THE UK will build up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines and invest £15 billion in its warhead programme, the Prime Minister will announce today as the Government unveils its strategic defence review.
Significant investment in the UK nuclear warhead programme this parliament and maintaining the existing stockpile are among the 62 recommendations that the Government is expected to accept in full.
In response to the strategic defence review, the Government will also commit to:
- Getting the armed forces to a stage where it would be ready to fight a war
- Boosting weapons and equipment stockpiles and making sure there is capacity to scale up production if needed in a crisis or war
- Buying up to 7000 UK-built long-range weapons in a move due to support 800 defence jobs
- Setting up a new cyber command and investing £1 billion in digital capabilities
- More than £1.5bn of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing.
But questions were also raised about its commitment to defence spending after the Defence Secretary could not confirm the Treasury had guaranteed funding to bring it up to 3% of GDP by 2034.
Building the new submarines, which is part of the Aukus partnership with the US and Australia, will support 30,000 highly skilled jobs into the 2030s as well as 30,000 apprenticeships and 14,000 graduate roles across the next 10 years, the Ministry of Defence said.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: “Our outstanding submariners patrol 24/7 to keep us and our allies safe, but we know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression.
“With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering on our Plan for Change with 30,000 highly skilled jobs across the country.”
The £15bn investment into the warhead programme will back the Government’s commitments to maintain the continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent, build a new fleet of Dreadnought submarines and deliver all future upgrades.
From the late 2030s, the fleet of up to 12 SSN-Aukus conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines will replace seven astute class attack submarines the UK is due to start operating.
The promises are likely to require "chunky tax increases", according to the head of the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies, a think tank.
Director Paul Johnson said: "It looks like the Government wants to reinstate the winter fuel payment. It’s thinking about the two-child limit for benefits. We’ve got a spending review next week.
“And if we are really going to spend another £10-£15 billion a year on defence, whilst inevitably we’re going to spend more and more on health and pensions and so on, you really do have to ask that question, what are the choices that you’re going to make?”
Johnson added: “I mean, bluntly, it really does seem to me that the only choice that is available, if we’re going to go through all of those things, is some really quite chunky tax increases to pay for it."
How can I watch Keir Starmer's speech in Glasgow?
Starmer will set out the review with a short speech, followed by a media Q&A from 10am.
It will be live on BBC, as well as Sky News.
You can watch here.
The National is in attendance.
Starmer will say: “From the supply lines to the front lines, this Government is foursquare behind the men and women upholding our nation’s freedom and security.
“National security is the foundation of my Plan for Change, and this plan will ensure Britain is secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering a defence dividend of well-paid jobs up and down the country.
“This strategic defence review will ensure the UK rises to the challenge and our armed forces have the equipment they need that keeps us safe at home while driving greater opportunity for our engineers, shipbuilders and technicians of the future.”
The Conservatives and Lib Dems questioned Labour’s commitment to funding the promises they are making.
The Government has previously set out its “ambition to reach 3% in the next parliament”, after meeting its pledge to ratchet up defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027.
Healey had said there was “no doubt” the UK would reach 3% in an interview with The Times.
But on Sunday, he sidestepped questions about whether he had any guarantee from the Treasury to provide the funding when asked on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
He said he does not expect to increase the number of people in the armed forces until the next Parliament amid a recruitment and retention crisis.
Asked when the Army would reach the target of 73,000, Healey said: “We’ve narrowed the gap, but we’ve still got more people leaving than joining.
“The first job is to reverse that trend and then I want to see in the next parliament our ability to start to increase the number.”
