PM hails defence sector as offering ‘next generation of secure, well-paid jobs’
Sir Keir Starmer has hailed the defence sector as offering “the next generation of good, secure, well-paid jobs”, after it was announced that defence ministers will set a target for spending money with small businesses.
Officials are looking to boost the access of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to Armed Forces supply chains, following the Prime Minister’s announcement that defence spending would be increased to 2.5% of GDP by 2027.
Sir Keir and Defence Secretary John Healey met SMEs in the defence sector, apprentices and students at a careers fair hosted in Downing Street on Monday.
Career choice
The Prime Minister told the Number 10 event that support will increase “investment in small firms across the whole of the United Kingdom”.
He added: “For those of you that are thinking about a career in defence, in this industry, I hope the students feel inspired by what they see today, the opportunities before them and the possibilities for their own future.
“Because this isn’t just about security for Britain, it’s about security for working people as well.
“The next generation of good, secure, well-paid jobs and the pride and purpose of knowing your work keeps the nation safe.”
Last week, the Prime Minister announced the uplift to defence spending, as well as a target for it to increase to 3% of GDP within the next parliament.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that they will also launch a new “hub” for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to direct them towards defence contracts.
Some 12,000 SMEs could be supported by the plans, the department said.
“Determination”
Some 70% of defence spending is outside the wealthy south-east of England and London but ministers say only a small amount of this went to SMEs last year, and plan to change this.
Addressing the same event in Downing Street, Mr Healey said in relation to the spending increase that “we want to make sure that as much of that is directed towards British firms, British jobs, British skills, British opportunities as possible, especially for small and medium-sized firms.”
He later added: “What the Prime Minister and I are also announcing today is a determination that as we increase defence spending, as we boost the British economy in all parts of the UK with that defence investment, we will make sure that a larger share of it is directed towards small and medium-sized firms.”
Sir Keir and Mr Healey met staff and apprentices at a number of companies including Supacat which works in military vehicles and GW Martin, a precision-engineering firm.
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It’s about blowing people to bits as they drive along saving lives with the accuracy of Cupid…
Crash, we just hit the bottom of the human league…
‘The Masters of War’ takes all at the Devils Oscars…
Mia Mottley for me, speaking with a young friend from Jamaica the other day, he said he was keen for her to take over the stewardship of his Island too…
We just need to get rid of what we have now…
They are very unlikely to cope with the future…
Therefore I name this planet Titanic and curse all officers on the bridge…
Boy’s Own 1900 Clark of Kent, the Groucho of the In and Out Club, methinks Clark is a little bit of an Airfix kid…
“The next generation of good, secure, well-paid jobs and the pride and purpose of knowing your work keeps the nation safe.”
That’s the nation (singular) which one does he mean I wonder?
Clark of Kent was remembered for his enthusiasm for a secure future on the jobs front for the UK by selling the Forever War magazine subscriptions outside supermarkets…
Buy your own air to ground missile and drop it in the MoD charity box on your way out…
Adrian Henry for poet laureate…
One thought on the reduction of aid and possible boots on the ground.
The UK soldier and sailor are renown for their sharing while those ancient airmen, who remember the Berlin Air Lift, will be absolutely ashamed of Mr and Mrs Bumble of Downing Street…
But not well paid for the actual people he will send to war. Just the private companies slicing off a bigger share than is fair. And useless politicians hyping it up to kill our kids off.
I wonder if those at the sharp end of the ‘UK’s’ munitions feel secure?
Are we really secure at the sharp end of theirs?
I’m sure most people I know in Cymru would prefer not to be at the sharp end rather than being dealt into England’s wars…again.
There are so many reasons why independence cannot come soon enough – we could work for peace, not the unstable security of ever-increasing stockpiles of usable and purportedly unusable weapons.
Time to deal ourselves out of this madness.