‘Buy British’ call to protect Lancashire defence jobs

A union representing hundreds of Lancashire defence workers has increased calls for the government to ‘buy British’ and order new fighter aircraft that would be built in the county.

Unite has welcomed defence secretary Wes Streeting’s procurement pledge to 'back British by buying British wherever we can'.

But it has also warned the government’s new offset rules for overseas contractors cannot be ‘an excuse for not backing workers in jobs that already exist’.

The union, which represents workers at defence giant BAE Systems’ Lancashire plants at Warton and Samlesbury, is calling on ministers to prioritise the UK companies that already employ British workers.

It wants to see a new tranche of Lancashire-built Typhoon jets for the RAF and an order of collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) from BAE Systems, as well as awarding the Skynet 6 satellite contract to Airbus rather than US firm Lockheed Martin.

The government’s newly published Offset Policy will apply to selected procurements from April 2027.

Overseas firms winning significant UK contracts will have to invest back into Britain, through jobs, apprenticeships, factories and UK suppliers.

Unite says that is a positive step but a promise of future jobs from a foreign company cannot justify a failure to back jobs in the UK that already exist.

Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, said: “Ministers say they’re ‘backing Britain by buying British’. This must be proved with action not just words.

“We should not be handing Britain’s satellites to an American contractor in exchange for promises of a few jobs down the line and putting existing jobs at risk.

“We should also be backing British aircraft with orders for sovereign Typhoons and CCAs. Airbus workers in Stevenage and Portsmouth and BAE workers in Lancashire are ready now. Back them.

“Government investment should always back workers in Britain first and come with real job guarantees, not just projections of jam tomorrow. If the government means what it says about backing Britain it can start by ordering more Typhoons and giving Skynet to Airbus.”

BAE Systems employs about 12,000 people at Warton and Samlesbury in Lancashire, where the Typhoon is built.

Unite claims UK fighter assembly capability is under threat with no further domestic orders confirmed, and warns this puts the future jet fighter programme GCAP at risk along with tens of thousands of jobs. It says ‘offset promises in other areas’ won’t help with this.

The union says it also believes the same principle applies to the future of collaborative combat air. BAE Systems unveiled Brontanax, the UK’s first sovereign CCA, at Warton this summer. It was built by British engineers in Lancashire and is due to fly in 2027.

Unite says the RAF’s StormFighter programme should be won by a British company with a workforce in the UK, so the next generation of uncrewed fighters is built alongside the Typhoon, rather than bought in.

BAE Systems’ workers in Lancashire are working to deliver 20 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to Turkey.

The group is manufacturing major airframe components, will conduct the final assembly of the aircraft and lead the weapons integration in Lancashire. The first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in 2030.