Stories

Thu, 30 Jul 2026

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 Burnham says nuclear sub investment will protect UK and boost jobs

Speaking ahead of a visit to Barrow-in-Furness, the PM seeks to stress the economic benefits of defence spending.
The UK government has announced an investment of £8.4 billion in nuclear submarines, which will support 47,000 jobs and apprenticeships across Britain. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said that this investment will "protect Britain for decades to come" and provide economic benefits to the country. The Dreadnought-class submarines are being built in Barrow-in-Furness, where four new vessels are currently under construction. The £8.4 billion funding is part of a larger Defence Investment Plan, which sets out £63.6 billion over the next four years for the Defence Nuclear Enterprise. This includes £47 billion to keep nuclear submarines operational and maintain existing facilities. Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge welcomed progress on the submarine programme but accused Burnham of "failing to commit" to fully funding defence. However, Burnham has stated that he wants to honour the UK's commitments on defence spending, including meeting a NATO target of 3.5% of national income by 2035. The government says that the current nuclear defence spending supports around 47,000 British jobs and is forecast to rise to 65,000 by 2030, including 22,000 apprenticeships by 2035. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson James MacCleary called for the use of defence bonds to raise dedicated funding to rebuild capabilities across the armed forces. Reform UK's Danny Kruger dismissed Burnham's announcement as a "rehashed spending plan" that does nothing to address the crisis in the UK's nuclear programme.