Mark Menzies, Member of Parliament for Fylde, has back the Government’s Integrated Review refresh.
The Foreign Secretary made a statement to the House of Commons on Monday, setting out the Government’s foreign and defence policy objectives, reacting to the major geopolitical developments that have occurred since the initial Integrated Review in March 2021.
Mr Menzies said: “The past year have seen seismic changes in our global outlook. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is the most obvious example, but there are countless other challenges relating to China, regional conflicts, and terror threats which meant that the previous review was in need of updating.”
“Fylde is synonymous with the defence of our nation, both in terms of the hardware produced at Warton and the fantastic service men and women stationed at Weeton Army Barracks.
With the British Army’s North West Headquarters due to be relocated to Weeton year later this decade, this footprint is set only to grow.”
One of the headline announcements was confirmation of a £5 billion uplift in the UK defence budget, taking UK spending to 2.5% of GDP, considerably above than the 2% baseline commitment for NATO members. The additional funds will see investment in new technologies to bolster Britain’s future military capability, while also providing continued support to Ukraine.
“The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine, our NATO allies and partners around the world.
I was delighted to hear the Foreign Secretary pay tribute to those delivering our Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS), with the Team Tempest project spearheaded by the team at BAE Warton and developed in partnership with Italy and Japan.”
While the Foreign Secretary spoke in Westminster, the Prime Minister was in California, where he met with the American President and Australian Prime Minister to unveil further details of the AUKUS submarine agreement, including news that the new SSN-AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines will be built at Barrow-in-Furness.
“Europe and the Pacific are two potential flashpoints for future conflict, with tensions that risk undermining the democratic order. Between them, AUKUS and FCAS (Team Tempest), provide a further boost for defence employment and investment in the North West and shows that we remain front and centre of efforts to uphold peace and prosperity.”