LIVE: Keir Starmer Visits UK Defence Contractor Amid Reform UK Victory

Hey hey hey hey hey hey. 222. Hey hey. 222. Hey hey. 222. Hey hey. 222. Hey hey. You got it? Is your shot going to be like, spaced out? Quite close to it, is that alright? Can I see what your... Are you okay? It's a bit, I'm talking about the camera. I'm Ellen and this morning we've had absolute privilege and pleasure to host the Prime Minister in our site. We've been through some loud tours, we've had some amazing demonstrations. So without further ado, Mr Prime Minister. Ellen, thank you very much. Thank you. Can I just say it's really fantastic to see so many people here, including everybody on the first and the second floors here. So thank you so much for allowing me to come and see what you are doing. And thank you for doing it because what you're doing here, the projects you're working on are really inspirational. I've had the chance to look at some of the technology, look at some of the capability and it really is inspiring. It is an absolute glimpse of the future when it comes to the capability. But also, my other takeaway from this morning is going to be how inspiring all the staff and the people working here are. Ellen was an apprentice here. I love these stories. And a number of people who showed me around were apprentices here. So for everybody who's an apprentice here this morning, who's listening to this as well, this is really uplifting. I love these stories of people coming, starting as apprentices and then working their way up to leadership positions. And we've diverted, I think, Ellen to go and see your team because we saw them working away and really had the opportunity to say thank you to them. So inspirational work that you're doing. Really inspirational people that you are working here. And it feels like a really incredible place to work. People work with a smile on their face because, one, it's really interesting, cutting edge work. And two, I think and I hope you've got a deep sense of just how important your work is to the defence and security of our country, actually beyond our country, Europe and more globally. And it's never been more needed than it is now. I think all of you will probably feel and your families and your friends will feel that in the last few months the world has seemed more unstable than perhaps it's been for a long time. And defence and security is much more of a focus for people across the country. And that means your work is even more important now than it's been before. Look at the situation in Ukraine. And I was in Ukraine the last time I was there was about six, seven weeks ago now. And I was really struck by the change over the three years of the conflict in the way in which the conflict is being forced. And the fact that drones, semi-autonomous and autonomous capability is absolutely at the front line now. And that gives me a real sense that what you're doing here is really relevant to what we're doing in Ukraine, but also really relevant to the way in which we need to be able to defend ourselves as we go forward. And that's why we've had to up our defence spending 2.5% by 2027. That's the highest sustained increase since the Cold War. That means, I'm afraid, more work for you, more projects for you, which is a good thing because I think we've got brilliant capability here. Storm Shroud is an incredibly forward-looking piece of kit and capability that will help us as we go forward. So that's ever more important. But as we build our national security, if you like, it is also really important to me that that's linked to our economic security. So I want to make sure that as we put more money into defence, as we work with our European and other partners to say they need to put more money into defence, and they are, and as we work with them to say our capabilities need to be more aligned, I want to see that in good, well-paid jobs around the country, good, secure jobs, skilled jobs of the sort that you are doing here. So thank you so much for allowing me to see what you are doing. It is really inspiring. I take away both the capability and the way that you do it. And thank you for that. Thank you for making time for me this morning. And this time last week, last Thursday, I was on the carrier, the strike carrier that is taking the best part of 2,000 people actually from our armed forces on an eight-month really important mission. And they are literally on the front line. But their capability, the equipment they've got, includes what you're doing. And therefore, just as I said to them last week, I'm proud of what they do as they set up on that mission. I'm really proud of what you do. Because they know, and I saw there what they're capable of, that they couldn't do that if you weren't doing what you're doing. So I hope you feel not just a sense of a good, well-paid, skilled job, which is what you are doing, but also a real sense that you're serving your country as well. Because without you doing what you're doing in the way you're doing it, we wouldn't have the capability that we have. So thank you all very much. I really appreciate what you're doing. And sometimes it's really important, particularly in politics, to just come and see people, get a sense of what they're doing, and say simple things like, thank you. I really appreciate it. And I speak not just for myself, but millions of people in this country would actually love to come and see what you do, and would love to be able to stand here and say to you, thank you. So on my behalf, and on behalf of millions of people across the country, thank you for what you do. I really, really appreciate it. Thank you. And I think the plan is now we're going to take some questions. So do we have some people with some questions? Yes. Your name is? How far into your apprenticeship are you? And is it three years? Is it four years? Fantastic. Great. You must be inspired by seeing people in leadership positions here who start up as apprentices. It's a great story. I'm a big, big fan. Over to you. My question is, most of the people who work on the street are having a season of protests outside. And we've also had protests outside. You've had protests outside here, haven't you? Right. Well, we need to get the message out. And one of the good things about coming here is being able to have the cameras, have journalists come in here for the purpose of this morning's visit, so that the journalists can use their skills to tell your story to the outside world. So that is really important. I think there's a bigger story than just showcasing the work that you're doing here, big though that is, because we have the right to freedom of expression and to protest in this country. But that was hard won. They're the values and the freedoms that we are defending through the work that you're doing. So in a sense, the protesters, to some extent, should be grateful to you, because what you're doing, the capability that you're putting into the fence and streets of our country is intended to ensure that we don't get drawn into conflict, because we've got the capability and we're showing the world that we've got the capability to defend what we believe in. And we believe in people having the ability to express their views, but people express their views ought to appreciate that you are actually helping them, through the work that you're doing, exercise the freedoms that they are exercising. So there's the story about what you're doing, which is a really important story. And I know that they'll probably ask me other questions in a minute, I suspect. But they will also tell this story. No, to be fair, they will tell this story to the outside world of what you're doing here. And that is really important, because the work you do here deserves to be showcased. And I'm really pleased that we're able to do a little bit of that today. Thank you. Where else have we got? Yeah. 12%. Right. Really good question. At 12%, we've got to get that number up. Two to 12 is good, but 12 and upwards would be even better. I think there are a number of things that can be done. Firstly, get into the schools and the colleges and tell people what you're doing. Because I suspect, actually, a lot of children and young people would have no idea what a job here might entail. I am absolutely convinced that if they knew what you're doing, they'd want to come and work here. But it's just planting that spark, that idea, with them. It's very difficult for children and young people to aspire to do something if they don't know what that something is. I'd actually get them in here as well, by the way, to have a look at what you're doing. But go and talk to girls and young women. I think Ellen does that. Because the other thing is to showcase the women you've got here in leadership positions who are doing brilliant things. Be proud of what you're doing and get out there. The last thing I think I'd say is this. I think there's quite a lot of evidence showing that when it comes to more women in the workforce, which is always a good thing, the sort of critical mass point, there comes a point where once there are enough people, then that in itself becomes a magnet. So go out and tell that story, particularly go into schools. I'm a really big fan of that. All of you will at some stage in your lives have got the spark to say, I want to go and work in this area. I want to go and develop my skills, do an apprenticeship, whatever it may be. It will be different reasons. It may be family. It may be really big, interesting things you're doing at school. But very often it's because somebody else has shown a young person what it is to do a job like this. So go and tell your story. Tell it to girls. Tell it to young women. And I don't know whether you're able to get people into the premises here. I'd bring them in. I mean, what I've seen this morning would inspire, I think, girls and young women to say, I want a bit of that. I want to go in. I want to do it. So tell a story and be proud about it. Great. And is that three years? Yes. Fantastic. So my question is, as someone whose career is transformed by enrolling in an apprenticeship, I'm passionate about making these opportunities more accessible. What is the government doing to ensure that the education system teaches young people the skills and knowledge that is needed for high-tech industries like aerospace and engineering? Well, thank you so much for asking this, because the apprenticeship story and the skills that go with it is hugely important. And we don't tell the story enough. I genuinely think that we've got a sort of default position for young people, which is, it's college and university is the only route. Now, college and university is a great thing. But it's not the only route. And doing an apprenticeship is equally challenging, equally complicated, equally skilled. And we need to really make that case over and over again. And I went to university. That was great for me. My dad, I've said this many times to the press now, he worked in engineering. He was an engineer. He did an apprenticeship. And so I've always felt, and he was a skilled engineer. So I personally understand how important that route is. The skills and the brilliance that comes with being an apprenticeship. We need to support apprentices. We need to make the case for them. We just changed the rule that says, there was a prohibition, as you probably know, that if you hadn't got maths to a certain level, you couldn't even start an apprenticeship. I thought that was wrong. There are many big reasons why, whether it's GCSEs or A-levels, people don't always do as well as they think, or they might. But it shouldn't hold them back from doing an apprenticeship, because we know that people who may not have maths, GCSE, or whatever, go on to do brilliant apprenticeships. So we need to clear the way, give the support. I mean, I'm a big champion of apprenticeships. I think we don't do enough in relation to them. We should go out and say much more about them. And we've got to get rid of this default position that university is the only way forward. It certainly is not, in my view. And it's right, I mean, you know, our boy now is 16, and we're having this discussion about what should he do. And I'm really encouraging. Look at apprenticeships. Good. Is there any other questions from anyone? You've got a question? Yeah. Sorry about that. My question is, as we look forward to the EU reface summit on the 19th, how does the government plan to balance domestic events and activities with international collaboration and improvement? I think this is such a good question. Because if there's one big message coming out of the last six months, it's that European countries, including the United Kingdom, need to do more on defence and security. I think it's vital to the peace in Europe and beyond. I think it's vital to holding NATO together. And I don't say it should be Europe or the US. We should do both. But our European countries and us need to do more. And that is why we're collaborating on a number of levels. We've got the summit coming up in two weeks, the EU-UK summit. That is a real opportunity for us to reset our relationship, bring ourselves closer to our allies. But we've, outside of that, we've set up, as you may have seen, the Coalition of the Willing, which President Macron and myself have sort of steered a group of countries that are prepared to sort of lean forward when it comes to providing the support the Ukraine is going to need. The lessons there are we need to work together, we need to coordinate better, I think we need to share capability better. I'd like to see some of what you're doing here talked about in the meetings I'm having because one of the lessons we learned, for example, in Ukraine is that many allies were willing to put capability forward to Ukraine. That's a good thing. But because our capabilities are slightly different and we haven't coordinated in the past, it's not as effective as perhaps it might otherwise have been. So I think there's a really big prize here. And I want us to be in that, part of that. Of course, that will mean more work, more contracts for you on some of what you're doing and contracts for the future. So thank you very much, indeed. Thank you. Anybody else? Yes. My name is Georgia. I'm linked to a particular university or college. So we attend University of Hertfordshire. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And my question is, in many countries, governments strongly support their national defence champions in global defence. Going forward, how will the government support British defence funds as we look to enhance our international export capabilities? Oh, we do, and we need to do more of it. And we need to champion. And I do champion what you do a lot. So in the margins of a lot of the meetings that we do internationally, there is very often discussion about defence capability. It doesn't tend to be sort of headline and what we're necessarily doing in front of the cameras, but there's very often discussion about capability. We need more of that because we're brilliant at this. We really punch above our weight when it comes to capability on defence and security. And we're going to need more of it. So just as I've said a moment ago, the UK is upping its defence spending. So are many other countries. Some of those countries don't have the capability that we have. So they are going to be looking, us and others, to say, well, where should we place our orders? Where do we see the opportunities? And we need to be out there making the case for Britain on that. We've got a brilliant story to tell. We've got great capability. Everyone knows, whether it's on the front line with our armed services, who have a reputation that goes before them globally, so too in our defence and security industry, we have a reputation. And that reputation is built on the work that you do. So when I go out and sell this, I'm selling what you're doing. And I'm very happy to do so, and we should do more of it. Thank you very much indeed. I think the plan is now I'm going to mingle for a bit, and then I'm going to go and talk to our friends from various bits of the media. So very nice to see you. Thank you very much, all of you. Football, we've got up at the very top there as well. This is amazing.