The Prime Minister has said he is insisting there be no delays to the future Type 83 destroyer programme, amid concerns that budget pressures could disrupt momentum in the UK\u2019s shipbuilding sector.<\/p>\n
Responding to questions from Labour MP Patricia Ferguson, Keir Starmer said \u201cI do not want delays, and that is why I am insisting that there should not be any delays in the order.\u201d He added that \u201cit is really important that those orders continue in the way that is expected,\u201d signalling an intention to maintain continuity in naval procurement.<\/p>\n
He linked the issue directly to the industrial base, stating \u201cshipbuilding is obviously hugely important in Scotland,\u201d and highlighting the recently secured Norwegian frigate deal, which he said would provide \u201cat least a decade\u2019s worth of work in Scotland.\u201d He added that he had visited the Clyde to engage with the workforce and demonstrate that \u201cthere is more work in the shipyards for them and for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starmer also framed shipbuilding within a broader strategic context, noting that the Norway agreement \u201censures that there is interoperability between our frigates and Norway\u2019s frigates,\u201d which he described as \u201can increasingly important part of the strategic work that we are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
On export opportunities, including a potential Danish order for Type 31 frigates to be built at Rosyth, the Prime Minister confirmed the UK was \u201cworking very hard on it, including at leader level,\u201d adding \u201cI very much hope we can make progress.\u201d He pointed to existing agreements with Indonesia and Norway, as well as defence cooperation with Turkey, as examples of a wider approach that combines industrial output with closer military integration.<\/p>\n
He said such deals are \u201cnot just the orders but how we integrate and work strategically with our NATO partners,\u201d underlining a shift toward deeper interoperability and coordination across allied fleets.<\/p>\n
Pressed on how to balance exports with domestic fleet requirements at a time when the Royal Navy is under strain, Starmer said \u201cwe need both, and we need to get that right,\u201d again emphasising interoperability. \u201cThe fact that we and Norway will have the same capability\u2026 is a really big step forward,\u201d he said, arguing that standardisation across allies improves operational effectiveness.<\/p>\n
He added that lessons from Ukraine had exposed the limitations of fragmented capabilities, stating that \u201cby having different capabilities over the years\u2026 it has been more difficult than it otherwise\u2026 should have been,\u201d and that he was seeking to improve \u201cco-operation and co-ordination\u201d across European partners.<\/p>\n
On wider defence infrastructure, including Faslane and Lossiemouth, Starmer said investment was \u201ckept under constant review\u201d and described maintaining the UK\u2019s nuclear deterrent as \u201cthe first priority.\u201d He reflected on a recent visit to Faslane, describing it as \u201ca very humbling experience,\u201d noting the demands placed on submarine crews and their families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Prime Minister has said he is insisting there be no delays to the future Type 83 destroyer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-492675","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-greatbritain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}