Boris Johnson announces major £4bn shipyard investment during Merseyside trip
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced £4bn investment to secure the future of shipbuilding in the UK during a visit to Merseyside today.
Mr Johnson’s visit to shipyard Cammell Laird in Birkenhead coincides with the publication by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the UK’s long-awaited National Shipbuilding Strategy which will offer a 30-year pipeline of work for shipyards and their suppliers across the UK.
The £4bn investment, which will create tens of thousands of jobs and deliver more than 150 new naval and civil vessels over the next 30 years, will “galvanise” shipyards and suppliers across the country, Downing Street said.
The shipbuilding strategy also builds on the UK’s increased support for European defence capability in the face of rising Russian aggression, with UK defence giant Babcock successfully being chosen as Poland’s preferred partner to deliver three new warships based on the UK’s Type 31 design.
During his visit the Prime Minister met with apprentices and shipbuilding experts to understand how UK Government investment is creating jobs and levelling up communities across the country.
The UK’s historic shipbuilding industry currently supports 42,600 jobs across the UK and contributes more than £2.8 billion to the economy.
The Prime Minister said: “Shipbuilding has been in our blood for centuries and I want to ensure it remains at the heart of British industry of generations to come.
“The National Shipbuilding Strategy will transform this important and crucial industry, creating jobs, driving technology development and upskilling the shipbuilders of tomorrow, ensuring we are levelling up across every dock, port and shipyard in the UK.
“This will ensure the UK is rightly seen as a shipbuilding power across the world.”
Defence Secretary and Shipbuilding Tsar Ben Wallace said:
As Shipbuilding Tsar, I am proud to be announcing our new strategy, this is an exciting time to be involved in the sector.
With significant government investment, we will be levelling-up across our shipbuilding, workforce, from shipyard to supplier, from procurement to designer, creating tens of thousands of new employment opportunities, boosting living standards and pay.
Our refreshed strategy will see the sector galvanised at a crucial time for our economy and see a vital part of British industry expand and flourish.
