Prospect welcomes new defence procurement rules that will prioritise British ships and British steel
The Chancellor’s announcement of new defence procurement rules that will prioritise British ships and British steel has been welcomed by Prospect.
In her speech at Labour’s Annual Conference in Liverpool, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP spoke of her vision to renew Britain’s economy, saying “a strong economy must rest on strong foundations: Domestic steel capacity, defence capability, and energy security.”
Proposed reforms will also see companies that are bidding for public contracts incentivised to establish jobs in the UK.
Mike Clancy, Prospect General Secretary, said:
“Prospect has consistently argued that UK warships should be built in UK shipyards, and it is welcome to hear the Chancellor echoing those sentiments today.
“For too long our procurement system has been pointing in the wrong direction, fixated on headline cost and ignoring other factors such as supporting good quality jobs that can in turn boost local communities. Under the last government we saw important shipbuilding contracts go to foreign firms, while our own yards were desperate for work.
“A more strategic procurement process can promote long-term skills planning and lead to ambitious industrial partnerships between government, industry, and unions- strengthening our industrial base and creating good quality jobs across the UK.
“We welcome these commitments today and call on the government to approach this procurement reform with high ambition and a clear goal to make sure all government contracts support the maximum number of good, unionised jobs across the UK.”
