Sir Keir Starmer has outlined the importance of the UK’s nuclear deterrent in his plan for national security, aiming to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. The commitment aligns with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s, signalling a dramatic shift from the policies of his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn. Labour hopes to direct UK defence investment to British business, and increase jobs and skills in defence. Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled his vision for bolstering the UK's defence
00:04 capabilities, labelling the nation's nuclear deterrent as "the bedrock" of his strategy
00:10 to ensure Britain's safety and security. Sir Keir revealed his intention to increase
00:15 the defence budget to 2.5% of GDP, matching the commitment of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
00:22 During a visit to BAE Systems in Barrow, he emphasised the party's transformed stance
00:27 on defence, asserting Labour's unwavering dedication to the nation's armed forces.
00:32 "The only way to have a safer world is to have an effective deterrent. The nuclear deterrent
00:39 has been effective now for decades. It's the single most important part of our armoury
00:44 to protect our country."
00:47 The party hopes to direct UK defence investment to British business and increase jobs and
00:52 skills in defence. Labour has long grappled with internal divisions on nuclear weapons,
00:57 including the contentious debate surrounding multilateral versus unilateral disarmament.
01:02 These divisions were particularly pronounced during the tenure of Sir Keir's predecessor,
01:06 Jeremy Corbyn.
01:07 "You don't achieve peace by planning for war and grabbing each other's resources and not
01:14 respecting each other's human rights."
01:18 Foreign Secretary Grant Sharp said that Labour could not be trusted with the country's defences.
01:23 "It's not credible from them because he's got 11 members of his shadow front team, including
01:28 his shadow foreign secretary and his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, all of whom
01:32 voted against Trident. And Keir Starmer is somebody who supported twice a man to be prime
01:38 minister in Jeremy Corbyn, who wanted to scrap Trident, get us out of NATO and set up a peace
01:43 corps rather than an army."
01:45 Sir Keir's visit to the Barra-in-Furness shipyard, the first by a Labour leader in over three
01:50 decades, comes after Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt also toured the site in March, having
01:55 declared "a critical national endeavour to secure the nuclear industry's future."
02:01 Starmer's announcement marks a clear policy departure from his predecessor. In a year
02:05 of elections, it remains to be seen what impact, if any, it has on Labour's fortunes at the
02:11 ballot box.