Starmer to tout Barrow submarine jobs as defence spending boosts growth

BAE Systems added 5,000 workers to a workforce of 12,000 after winning a £3.95 billion contract for a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to use Barrow-in-Furness to present defence spending as an engine of growth. In March 2025, ministers said Barrow should be held up as evidence that defence contracts can drive jobs, skills and wider regeneration.

BAE Systems is building up to 12 new attack submarines, replacing the seven-boat Astute class, and the company said the decision reflected the “increasingly uncertain world we’re living in”. The company has also been recruiting 1,200 workers for its Barrow submarine plans, while the shipyard’s growth has put pressure on local housing, with about 900 new homes a year needed in Barrow-in-Furness to keep pace.

In May 2022, contracts worth more than £2 billion were awarded to BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce for the Royal Navy’s largest ever submarines, a four-boat programme that will run for 30 years and be built in Barrow. Barrow Rising’s 10-year plan aims to make the town thriving and prosperous by 2035 as population growth is expected.

The government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, Making Defence an Engine for Growth, was presented to Parliament on 8 September 2025. A Strategic Defence Review and a Defence Nuclear Enterprise annual update also put defence forward as an economic driver. A House of Commons Defence Committee report on AUKUS followed on 28 April 2026. The submarine partnership was announced in 2021 by Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak. In Barrow, Labour MP Michelle Scrogham called the town the “blueprint for the government’s defence industrial strategy”, and the Port of Barrow has been granted royal status for its “unique and critical contribution” to national security.