Reeves promises to ‘fire up’ British defence industry

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is to promise to cut red tape to make it easier for the Government to buy military equipment.

She will tell a manufacturing industry conference in London later on Tuesday that she wants to “fire up Britain’s industrial base” to step up arms production, claiming the issue has been “ducked and dodged” by governments for too long.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5% of the size of the economy from April 2027, something the Chancellor believes will help create jobs and drive growth in the UK.

Growth

Ms Reeves will say: “I am proud of our manufacturing sector, and the opportunities that it creates for the future – bringing more jobs and growth to parts of the country that have been ignored.

“For too long politicians of all stripes have ducked and dodged the decisions needed to fire up Britain’s industrial base and unleash its potential to keep the country safe.

“We’re changing that by increasing defence spending and making defence a cornerstone of our industrial strategy to create jobs, drive growth and meet emerging global threats head on.”

Ministers will review “single source” contract rules that govern the majority of defence deals to incentivise faster delivery, learning lessons from the rapid procurement of arms for Ukraine.

Single source contracts are not open to competition for national security reasons or because there is only one specialist supplier available.

Because of that, they are subjected to stringent rules to ensure value for money and transparency.