Good news over the weekend as the Government confirmed it will award the New Medium Helicopter contact to Leonardo’s in Yeovil. After months of sustained campaigning by Yeovil MP Adam Dance, Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke and myself, this contract will safeguard more than 3,000 jobs in the local area – and many more in the supply chain across the South West.
As we once again face the spectre of a potentially prolonged conflict in the Middle East, and the war in Ukraine stretching into its fourth year, it is vital we ensure our military is properly equipped.
Last year the Government finally published its updated National Security Strategy. As well as the Foreign Affairs Committee, I also sit on the Joint National Security Strategy Committee, whose job it is to scrutinise the strategy and ensure the Government is achieving its aims. The document repeatedly talks about the need to develop ‘sovereign capability’. That is, technology, manufacturing and intellectual property that we own, rather than relying on buying from other countries. Given how unreliable the Trump administration is as an ally, it is vital that we de-couple ourselves from reliance on the US.
West Dorset, and the South West more generally, is home to many fantastic and innovative defence companies. They are desperate to grow and also to stay local, but to do so they need confidence that the Government is serious about ramping up defence investment and supporting British businesses. In private conversations, a number of local business leaders have told me that unless the Government gets serious soon, they will be American companies by this time next year.
That would be terrible for West Dorset, and terrible for the UK.
As of today, we are still waiting for the Government to publish its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan, and for the Treasury to confirm how it will be funded.
The Liberal Democrats have been calling for Government to hold cross-party talks about how to quickly increase defence spending in order to ensure that the UK is prepared for whatever this unstable geopolitical situation holds. The time to do so is now.
Edward Morello
LibDem MP for West Dorset
