Labour’s armed forces revamp is “putting thousands of jobs at risk” amid there being funding uncertainty, it has been alleged.
Delays to Labour’s investment plan, which was expected last year, have created instability among UK defence firms, putting thousands of jobs at risk, the general secretary of Unite has cautioned.
Sharon Graham, head of the trade union, has criticised Labour’s hesitation over publishing its defence spending plans, which will outline how the Government intends to allocate funds to transform the armed forces.
The anticipated plans were expected last Autumn, but there is still no sight of them being published . It appears the lack of capital and the Ajax armoured vehicle programme being paused is at the centre of the delay.
The Army had to stop the use of its Ajax armoured fighting vehicle after dozens of soldiers were taken ill due to vibration and hearing problems.
Delay of the plan’s publication has created uncertainty among UK defence firms as they have been left in the dark on what equipment the Government’s money will be allocated to.
Decisions of key projects have been paused, much to the dismay of the service chiefs, The Times reports.
Before a rally outside No10 on Wednesday, Ms Graham said: “The government’s dithering must end.
A petition with nearly 9,000 signatures from those working in the defence industry was handed to Downing Street
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“Delays to the defence investment plan and uncertainty about vital contracts are putting thousands of UK defence workers’ jobs in jeopardy.
“This is not the time for Treasury ‘bean counting’. We need decisive action to back Britain’s defence workers now.”
A petition with nearly 9,000 signatures from those working in the defence industry and their supporters was handed to Downing Street, calling on Sir Keir Starmer to finally get round to delivering his promises the back defence workers.
Unite represents 16,000 workers from BAE Systems, the UK’s biggest defence company, 13,000 at Rolls-Royce and 2,400 from Leonardo UK, including 1,200 at its Yeovil site.
Members of staff at Leonardo took part in industrial action in Edinburgh over pay dispute November
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The union said: “The armed forces need the best UK-made equipment to ensure national security in an increasingly unstable world.”
Ms Graham, speaking to the Times, directed the blame at the Treasury for the delay, suggesting the Chancellor should step down.
She said: “If the chancellor of the country can’t grasp that you have to invest for the future, then maybe it is not the right job for her to be doing.”
The union leader said it was “bordering on rank incompetence” the Labour Government had not yet published the anticipated plan.
She said: “We are now coming into March, and these workers do not know whether they’re getting the contracts, their companies don’t know whether they’re getting the contract.”
Other key figures in the industry have expressed their frustrations with the lack of direction.
Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, head of the RAF, said during the Royal Aeronautical Society last week: “I really want to get going on a replacement programme for the Hawk.
“We need to get a competition going.”
The Hawk T1, which has been flown by the Red Arrows since 1976 is due to be retired by 2030, with no replacement plan in place.
It appears the UK’s defence industry is struggling from all angles as GB News exclusively reported on the Army’s recruitment crisis earlier this week.
The People’s Channel revealed “endemic” issues within the Army have resulted in aspiring servicemen being denied entry into the military for reasons such as childhood injuries, lactose intolerance and back acne.
The British Army rejected 125,861 applications in the past five years, 76,187 of which were on medical grounds.
On top of this, a prominent defence think-tank warned Britain is failing to keep up with the pace of military rearmament across Europe, despite the escalating threat posed by Russia.
A major new assessment found the UK is lagging on key defence commitments, with significant shortfalls in armoured vehicles, naval capability and ground-based air defence.
The annual Military Balance report, a global survey of armed forces produced by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), showed European nations accounted for 21 per cent of worldwide defence spending last year.
The study warned that even if Britain accelerates plans to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP, roughly £113billion, by 2029, it would still fall behind Germany, which is expected to reach a similar level as early as next year.
An industry source told The Times at least ten to fifteen small firms have collapsed or been forced to close their defence operations over the past two years.
Defence companies describe this as a “say/do gap”, where ministers pledge increased investment but fail to deliver in practice.
An MoD spokesman said: “This government is backing British jobs, industry and innovators.
“Since July 2024, we have signed 1,100 major contracts, with 84 per cent of our annual spend going to British companies.”