Sir Keir Starmer must use a promised rise in UK defence spending to boost British manufacturing and expand domestic supply chains for the armaments industry, the head of the UK’s main manufacturing lobby group has said.
Stephen Phipson, the chief executive of Make UK, said the prime minister’s pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP was an opportunity to cement the UK’s position as a global leader in arms manufacturing.
“We must start to capitalise on our research and innovation capabilities to make sure that the defence sector is leading the way globally for years to come,” he said at the group’s national conference on Tuesday.