BBC News
· collected 2026-07-30 · by Kate Whannel, Damian Grammaticas
- Published
Ongoing investment in nuclear submarines will "protect Britain for decades to come" but also support 47,000 jobs and apprenticeships, Andy Burnham has said.
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Burnham → publish → jobs
Speaking ahead of a visit to Barrow-in-Furness, where four new Dreadnought-class submarines are being built, the prime minister said: "Security is not only about what we build, it is about who builds it, and who benefits from it."
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who → speak → it
The project to replace existing nuclear submarines will receive £8.4bn to support progress towards getting the new vessels ready for service.
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vessels → replace → service
Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge welcomed progress on the submarine programme but accused Burnham of "failing to commit" to fully funding defence.
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Cartlidge → welcome → defence
Burnham has said he wants to honour the UK's commitments on defence spending - including meeting a Nato target of spending 3.5% of national income by 2035.
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he → say → 2035
A separate target to increase the UK's defence spending to 3% of GDP is another promise the Burnham government will face pressure to outline.
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government → increase → pressure
John Healey resigned as defence secretary under Sir Keir Starmer's leadership over frustrations that there was no clear timeline to meet that target.
Healey, who is the new Chancellor, and Burnham face the tricky task of finding the extra money needed to fulfil the pledges.
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who → resign → pledges
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, recently appointed Defence Secretary Wes Streeting refused to confirm whether the prime minister would commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence.
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minister → speak → defence
He said he was "100% confident the prime minister and the chancellor will give us what we need", however "before we set out specific spending commitments we will also set out how we pay for them at the same time."
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we → say → time
He added: "I'm not going to... set out new spending commitments ahead of the Budget or the spending review when these sorts of decisions are made, because we would end up making a commitment on spending without spelling out how we would fund it."
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we → add → it
The Dreadnought-class submarines will replace the UK's four Vanguard-class vessels that have been in operation since 1992, carrying Trident missiles to provide a nuclear deterrent.
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that → replace → deterrent
Those Vanguard submarines are due to be retired in the 2030s, with the Dreadnoughts entering service at the same time.
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Dreadnoughts → retire → time
The project has taken 20 years to get to this stage and was first announced in 2006 by the then Labour Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
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project → take → Minister
A decade later, in 2016, MPs formally approved building the new submarines.
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MPs → approve → submarines
Thursday's announcement of £8.4bn marks the start of what has been called the fourth phase of the project.
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what → mark → project
The spending was already planned, and was included in the Defence Investment Plan, published in the final days of Sir Keir Starmer's government.
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spending → plan → government
The plan sets out £63.6bn over the next four years for what is called the Defence Nuclear Enterprise.
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what → set → years
The bulk of the money (£47bn) will go on keeping the nuclear submarines in operation, continuing with the Dreadnoughts, starting work on what might replace them in 30 years' time, and constructing several other new submarines and upgrading the UK's naval docks and manufacturing facilities.
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what → go → docks
The prime minister will use his visit to Barrow-in-Furness to stress how defence spending can have economic benefits for the country.
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spending → use → country
"The submarines produced in Barrow will protect Britain for decades to come, and the 47,000 jobs and apprenticeships will change lives both in this town and in dozens of places like it," he said prior to his visit.
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he → produce → visit
"British money, spent on British workers, British firms and British skills, in the places that were written off for 40 years."
The government says the spending on the UK's nuclear defence currently supports around 47,000 British jobs – and is forecast to rise to 65,000 by 2030, including 22,000 apprenticeships by 2035.
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spending → spend → 2035
Since becoming prime minister, Burnham has said he wants to reduce the number of young people not in employment, education or training and has announced funding to help those starting apprenticeships.
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he → become → apprenticeships
In a further step, Burnham has said the public procurement process, used to decide how to spend taxpayer cash, will favour companies offering 45-day work placements.
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process → say → placements
Speaking to the Jimmy's Jobs of the Future podcast,, external he said there would be "more social value weighting in public contracts", with a particular focus on firms offering such placements.
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he → speak → placements
He said the move had been inspired by his time as Greater Manchester mayor, when he oversaw a rise in the number of 45-day placements offered by private firms.
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he → say → firms
But the announcement offered little detail of the extent of the changes, how they would be implemented and how many firms he expected to roll out the placements as a result.
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he → offer → result
Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson James MacCleary called for the use of defence bonds to "raise dedicated funding to rebuild capabilities across the whole of the armed forces".
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MacCleary → call → forces
For Reform UK, Danny Kruger dismissed Burnham's announcement as a "rehashed spending plan" that did "nothing to address the crisis in the UK's nuclear programme".
"If the prime minister actually cared about keeping Britain safe and ensuring our armed forces can stand alongside our allies, he would commit to a significant increase in spending and a total overhaul of both procurement and the nuclear enterprise," Kruger said.
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Kruger → dismiss → procurement
Green Party Westminster leader Ellie Chowns questioned the decision to spend billions of pounds on "weapons that must never be used".
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that → question → weapons
"Ministers should not pretend that the best way to create employment is by funnelling ever-increasing sums into the nuclear weapons programme," she said.
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she → pretend → programme
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It → deliver → inbox
