Luke Pollard
MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“I welcome the hon. Gentleman to the Dispatch Box. I am sure there will be no shortage of parliamentary questions from him—indeed, this relates to a question he asked about Boxer to which I have already replied. We look at the criteria for what we need to buy for our armed forces, and that includes looking at the Boxer programme.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for that work. She will know that we have stood up the Defence Office for Small Business Growth, which is a dedicated front door for small businesses to access and navigate the defence procurement process and speed up security clearances and cyber essentials.”
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“We inherited defence spending of roughly 2.3% of GDP. That figure will be 2.7%-ish next year, and—as the hon. Gentleman will know, having read page 11 of the defence investment plan—at the spending review next year, the Chancellor will set out the spending profile that takes us to 3% and 3.5%.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I may be a south-west MP, but I am a north-east MP when it comes to increasing defence spending, just as my hon. Friend is. I want to see more spending in the north-east. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss how Steel Benders UK can access more of that increased defence spending.”
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“Project Safari is a superb example of how, when we have asked industry to step up, it has responded. Steve Wadey, the chief executive of QinetiQ, is pioneering a new set of requirements for test and evaluation, with more access to our ranges for small businesses, a greater focus on more collaboration, and more utility for us to test new c…”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Thanks to our growing defence budget, last year we spent £1.8 billion in the west midlands, benefiting not just west midlands businesses but those in my hon. Friend’s constituency. That is an increase of 3% on last year.”
House of Commons19 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman, but I appreciate the way in which he asked the question. Scotland is an integral part of our national security apparatus. From the aviators who fly from RAF Lossiemouth in the north of Scotland, to the submariners who serve from Faslane, as well as the extraordinary number of defence companies, large and small, across Scotland—not just in the central belt—there are huge opportunities. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will continue to pass on to the Scottish Government the importance of signing up for the second defence technical excellence college. I am still waiting for a reply to the letter that the Scottish Secretary and I wrote to the Scottish Government.”
House of Commons10 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Some of that change has already been announced by the Chief of the General Staff, and we will see further capability announcements in the defence investment plan. I can reassure my hon. Friend and the House that we have taken on the lessons from Ukraine and other conflicts around the world seriously, because the pace of change in defence is real, and we need our procurement system and fighting doctrine to reflect that pace of change in new technologies.”
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“I congratulate Teesside on winning additional student places in the announcement that the Defence Secretary made yesterday. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the fast pace of change means that we need to look again at some of the technologies that we are investing in. I have already described the equipment plan that we inherited from the Conservatives as unsuited to many of the threats we face. We do need to learn the right lessons from Ukraine; the strategic defence review certainly set out a number of them. The fast-paced iteration of drones in particular, and the complexity of a GPS or electronic warfare-denied environment along the frontline has fundamentally changed the way that the British Army will need to fight in the future.”
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“I will take that as good lobbying for one of those contracts. The right hon. Gentleman is certainly right that the Land Rover has given many decades of faithful service to the UK armed forces, but it is no longer suitable for the needs of our military and it is right that we now replace it. I announced the beginning of that contract procurement only a few months ago. I have been to RBSL and seen the skills they have there. I am expecting this to be a well-competed contract. As the Defence Secretary has set out, we want to see more of our rising defence budget spent with UK-based firms. I am certain that anyone procuring any contracts for the Ministry of Defence in the future will have one eye on that.”
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“We have also seen from the UK response to the Iranian drone threat to our sovereign base areas and our friends in the Republic of Cyprus how we can create a truly layered air defence, which is an important lesson we have learned from Ukraine. We have applied that not just to our sovereign base areas, but to our naval assets and our friends in the middle east.”
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“I thank the hon. Gentleman for mentioning the new colours awarded to the Royal Marines. My colleague the Minister for the Armed Forces was there with the King for that ceremony, which reflects the continuing relevance and importance of the Royal Marines, which will be shown clearly in the defence investment plan. The hon. Gentleman asks me about a specific capability proposed by the previous Government that may be included in the defence investment plan. I hope he will understand that I will not be able to go into that line item description today. However, on the broader point about ensuring the air defence of our naval assets, we have seen from Ukraine that there are new capabilities that can provide elements of that.”
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“I have a lot of time for the right hon. Gentleman, with whom I have spent many hours discussing defence spending. I am certainly very aware of the danger we now face—it is one of the reasons why the Government have decided to declassify a number of the threats facing the United Kingdom. When the Defence Secretary declassified the activities of the Russian spy ship Yantar over our undersea cables, for example, it was both to explain the threats that we are now facing as a nation and to send a clear signal to Putin that we see what he is doing. Deterrence takes a number of forms; there are certainly our capabilities, but the ability to call out and, in doing so, to restrict the ability of Russia to threaten the UK and our allies is also important. I understand what he says, however, and take it seriously.”
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“I want to see the activation of more private capital to look at how we can support not just the supply chain, but, potentially, defence capabilities. We have committed to doing that with the development of a defence finance and investment strategy, which we are working on currently.”
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“I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for her continued interest in defence, even with her new role in the Liberal Democrats. We are continuing to place contracts with British industry—1,400 since the general election, announcing a number of those in just the past few weeks—which is seeing jobs growth and both capital investment in infrastructure and investment in people and the skills that are required. The hon. Lady refers to innovative finance. We will set out the spending in the defence investment plan. As the hon. Lady will know, we are increasing defence spending, and I welcome a debate about innovation and how we can get more value out of the pounds we spend. Under the Labour Government, fewer contracts will be sent abroad—something that was commonplace under the Conservatives.”
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“It is a model that has worked well in Australia, Norway and a number of other countries. We have announced progress on that and consulted on that, too. Not only are we investing in British-based firms, but we are ensuring that when we do buy from abroad, there is a benefit for UK industry as well.”
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“For a moment, I thought that the right hon. Gentleman had been listening to my speeches at defence dinners, which I was really pleased about. Unfortunately, he misheard me, or has not quite got that right. Let me be very clear: UK-based firms that hire people in Britain, pay their taxes and invest in skills in Britain are the ones that we are backing in the defence investment plan. I am not interested in brass plaques. Where we have to send contracts abroad, either to buy the technologies that we do not make in the UK or for the exquisite capabilities that we buy from single sources—he can probably think of a few examples from his time as a Defence Minister—we are also introducing an offsets regime, which will ensure that British companies benefit in that way as well.”
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“I say to the hon. Gentleman very clearly that we will publish the defence investment plan before the NATO summit. He has written to me a number of times when he has not liked my answers from the Dispatch Box. I really do hope that Reform can take defence more seriously and not try to dodge the important connections that we now know exist between senior Reform figures and Russia because of the bribes that the Welsh leader of Reform took from Russia. It is really important that we expose that in the public domain, because no UK party should ever be in hock to Russia.”
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“We have given our armed forces the biggest pay rise in 20 years—a 14.1% cumulative pay rise under this Labour Government compared with the pay freezes that many of them endured under the Conservative Government. We are rearming and backing Britain, and when the defence investment plan is published very shortly, the hon. Gentleman will be able to see that.”
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“No, but I understand entirely the Conservatives’ partisan attack line on this one—and it is good to see the hon. Gentleman joining in. Let me be very clear: we have increased defence spending. We did so from the very first Budget that the Chancellor delivered at this Dispatch Box, and we are continuing to do that. Defence spending is £11 billion more per year today than under the last year of the Conservative Government, and we are directing more of that money at British-based firms. We are fixing military accommodation, which is in such a state. The first 1,200 of the worst military homes have now been refurbished, and we will continue that work until nine in 10 military homes are refurbished.”
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“That is one of the reasons why we are investing so much in our clean power mission to generate more of our energy in the United Kingdom. By investing in renewables, we can have good clean green jobs for the UK while also reducing our reliance on energy from further afield. Iran’s reckless actions in the middle east have shown to everyone in the House why investing in our energy security is so important. It is about home-grown energy, not relying on imports from abroad.”
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“I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for championing the defence firms that she has around her constituency. They are a really important in making the case that defence is an engine for growth. The hon. Lady is right that the threats we face as a nation are more complex than they have been for a very long time. They are not just military threats. The United Kingdom is under constant cyber-attack from our adversaries; that is one of the reasons why we have invested so much in our cyber defences and will continue to do so. The hon. Lady also hits on the really important point that defending our nation is not just a job for the Ministry of Defence: it is part of a cross-Government effort that must include securing our food—because food security is national security—and our energy supply.”
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“We are looking at what we can do not only with service family accommodation, but single living accommodation, because those who live on bases should also be reassured that we value their service and want them to live in decent accommodation, whichever service they may be in and wherever they may be deployed.”
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“I thank the hon. Gentleman for talking about military housing, which is not just for our armed forces personnel but, importantly, for their families. As someone who represents a military area in Plymouth, I know that when our forces are deployed abroad, if their families back home are living with black mould in their kids’ bedrooms, leaky roofs or broken boilers, it affects their ability to do the job we have asked them to do—on the frontline or wherever it may be. That is why in opposition we committed to making defence housing a priority. In government, we have announced the defence housing strategy to improve, rebuild or refurbish nine in 10 military homes—along with our substantial commitment of £9 billion—and we have already made substantial progress on the 1,200 worst family homes.”
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“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his interest. Every single nation in the United Kingdom will benefit from the defence investment plan. Wales is already the recipient of one of the five defence growth deals that we announced, with new capabilities and new investment in skills. We look forward to speaking with the new Welsh Government in due course about how we operationalise that. The MOD’s main objection to the development of wind farms predominantly relates to the impact on air defence radars. I would be very happy for the hon. Gentleman to send me some details in advance of us meeting.”
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“Over my two years as a defence Minister, I have seen our international friends in government—be they parties of the left or right—making the case that Britain is back on the world stage and that UK leadership matters. When it comes to the changing geopolitical system, which we can all see around the world, UK leadership in the Euro-Atlantic is especially welcome and desired from our allies, who want to work with us on capabilities and deployment. The hon. Lady and the whole House will see more of that when the defence investment plan is published shortly.”
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“I do not quite agree with the hon. Lady’s assessment, and she need only look at the announcements that we have made on defence in only the past few months: the standing up of the coalition of the willing with our friends in France, which is a multinational effort to support Ukraine; our continued support for Ukraine by providing kit, equipment and training; our forward land forces in Estonia being equipped with the latest drone technology; and the work we are doing with the UK-led mission in the strait of Hormuz, deploying brand-new autonomous capabilities as part of a hybrid Navy to deal with Iranian mines. We can see that the UK is stepping up.”
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“indicated dissent. Railways Bill (Ways and Means) King’s r ecommendation signified. Resolved, That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Railways Bill, it is expedient to authorise the making of provision about income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, value added tax, stamp duty, stamp duty reserve tax and stamp duty land tax.— ( Shaun Davies .) Question agreed to.”
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“Lead, like other critical minerals and the broader range of chemicals that go into producing energetics and ammunition, has seen constrained supply over the past five years. That is why we are taking a strategic approach to our munitions management, including rebuilding depleted stockpiles, investment in always-on facilities and munitions, and building new energetics factories in the UK.”
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“I would be happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman and his constituents. We inherited stockpiles that were much lower than we would have liked, and this Government are determined to refill those stockpiles; anything that goes into rebuilding those is important to me. I am happy to meet and discuss this further.”
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“Yes, we have accepted the strategic defence review recommendation that we introduce a defence readiness Bill. As the hon. Gentleman will know, readiness measures are already included in the Armed Forces Bill, which will be before the House again tomorrow. Engagement across Government and with industry is under way on the defence readiness Bill. I am proud that a Labour Government are planning to introduce such a Bill; when his party was in power, the Conservatives neither introduced such a Bill nor thought of it. That shows that in these changing times, Labour is on the side of our armed forces and a stronger Britain.”
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“It is so disappointing that all the hon. Gentleman wants is a timetable; he does not say what measures he wants to see in the defence readiness Bill. He does not care what is in it. [ Interruption. ] We care about the content of the defence readiness Bill: we will get it right, and we will bring it before this House. When it comes before the House, I hope he will support it.”
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“My hon. Friend is a real champion for Harlow. As we are increasing defence spending, we are directing more of the increased defence budget at British companies, including British small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as larger companies. I would be happy to meet him to discuss how we can support the SMEs in his constituency, so that they receive a greater share of this Government’s increased defence budget.”
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“We inherited a broken procurement system of red tape, delays and high costs. Some 47 of 49 major defence programmes were delayed or not on budget when we came to office. We are speeding up procurement, buying British and aiming to increase direct SME spend by 50%, which represents an extra £2.5 billion that we will spend with UK SMEs.”
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“As a fellow south-west MP, I know how important defence is for businesses large and small in our part of the world. That is why we have signed 1,200 major defence deals since the general election, and analysis of just 500 of them shows that they are delivering benefit for 8,000 SMEs and micro-SMEs. We will continue to increase the amount of direct spend with small businesses, just as we are speeding up procurement. We inherited a system that was broken and did not work, and we are speeding it up to ensure that we can get more contracts to those brilliant innovators in our economy as soon as we can.”
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“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. After many years of much talk under the last Government about AUKUS pillar II, this Government have delivered a project and a capability that, in the hands of our British, Australian and American warfighters, will make a real difference. My hon. Friend is right to talk about autonomy and drones, for which the Government are committed to increasing funding. We have invested in more capabilities in the United Kingdom, and we are actively exporting those capabilities to our friends and allies abroad. He should expect to see more of that in the defence investment plan, which will be published soon.”
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“I join the hon. Gentleman in commending FalconWorks and BAE Systems for their innovation. The Government have established UK Defence Innovation, with a £400 million annual budget to support innovation. That is making a difference in bringing more innovation to the market as well as dual-use potential. We will continue to invest in that, just as we set out that 10% of our equipment budget will be spent on novel technologies, helping to drive the latest kit and equipment for our troops.”
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“Yes, I can. One of the key pillars of the strategic defence review is learning the lessons from Ukraine. When it comes to autonomous systems and drones, that is not just about the continuing investment that we are making in high-end drone capabilities—intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, one-way strike and others—but about how we can deliver mass effect. Due to the rapid iteration of drone technology, it does not necessarily always make sense to have a warehouse full of millions of drones. However, having the ability to produce millions of drones while recognising the shortages in the supply chain, especially around motors, magnets and cameras, is the way that we can enhance our capabilities and our deterrents. We are actively working on that.”
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“I can tell the hon. Gentleman about the 1,200 contracts we have signed since the general election, because we are not waiting for a defence investment plan to sign contracts with companies large and small. Those companies are producing new jobs and apprenticeships, more demand for skills, and new technologies that are being used by our frontline forces and exported to our allies. All the work that the hon. Gentleman refers to is part of our bigger picture for the defence investment plan. We know that increased defence spending will produce more UK jobs. We are spending more with British companies, and will continue to do so. I will stand up for our armed forces and our defence industry, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman will be able to talk our defence industry up, rather than talk it down as he has today.”
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“SMEs are crucial to our success. Through the Defence Office for Small Business Growth, we are cutting red tape and proceeding towards our ambitious SME spend target of an additional £2.5 billon by summer 2028. Last week we announced, with Sweden, the Gripen contract for £500 million of benefits to be shared not just by large companies but by small businesses across the United Kingdom, reinforcing the fact that defence is an engine for growth.”
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“I thank my hon. Friend for his words about our armed forces and the Typhoons that we have in Romania, which are doing essential air policing roles. With a NATO-first approach, we will continue to do that. I would be very happy to meet him to talk about Cherry & White and Permali, two outstanding companies that provide communication systems and composite materials to defence. Other SMEs wanting to supply to defence should look at the success of such companies, and I would be very happy to meet him to discuss their interest.”
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“I am not the Minister responsible, but that Minister has heard the hon. Gentleman’s pleas and would be very happy to meet him to discuss that further.”
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“This Government are proud to support Typhoons. We have announced a £500 million upgrade for Typhoons, including new radar, and we have helped secure the deal to export 20 Typhoon jets to Türkiye. We are continuing to support the brilliant jobs in Typhoon production at Warton and Samlesbury and across the United Kingdom, and we are expanding into more autonomous craft as well, supporting the Typhoon for many years to come.”
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“As the hon. Member will know, we are increasing sanctions on Russian oil. [ Interruption. ] We are increasing sanctions. I entirely appreciate that the Opposition have decided to depart from the principle of cross-party support to play party political games, but that does not stop it being true. We are increasing sanctions on Russia.”
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“Yes, we do agree. We know that climate change is driving a number of increasing threats. We also know that as a Department we are cutting our carbon emissions and supporting nature recovery. We do that not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it increases our warfighting readiness. We know from Ukraine that a diesel generator can be seen by an ISR drone many, many kilometres away. We know that if we continue with the use of fossil fuels, we are at a strategic disadvantage on the battlefield. That is why we continue to invest in new technology in that regard.”
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“We have set out our intention to increase the amount of sustainable aviation fuel that the RAF uses. Far from being a sign of weakness, that is a sign of increasing security and sovereignty over our fuel supply, recognising the changing world that we live in and ensuring that the RAF will continue to fly, whatever the constraints on fuel in the future.”
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“We are proud to support Typhoon, and I was proud to be in my hon. Friend’s constituency to unveil the defence technical excellence college. In her constituency there are some brilliant students undertaking amazing training that will give them the skills to work in BAE Systems producing Typhoons for our allies, and potentially other craft in the future. We will continue to support Lancashire and its aerospace sector.”
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“In the defence industrial strategy, we set out a £182 million package to invest in skills not only to support people entering defence for the very first time, creating a lifetime of opportunity ahead of them, but to support people retraining their skills. The companies in Stevenage are great examples of how to use that training money well. I am very happy talking to my hon. Friend about how we can go further with that.”
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“The Secretary of State for Scotland and I wrote to the Scottish Government a number of months ago now, but we have still had no reply to our offer of two DTECs in Scotland. I hope that the Scottish National party MPs present will be able to hurry on their Scottish Government to give young people in Scotland the DTECs they deserve.”
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“I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman, who asks so many parliamentary questions, has not kept up with those two planes. I will be sure to write to him to give him the full details—or perhaps he will get another PQ in which he will be able to inform himself of the information.”
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“Bovington is an important base for me, and I recognise the concerns that my hon. Friend mentions. I would be happy to meet him to discuss how we can resolve them.”
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“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and for championing SMEs. At the start of the year we established the Defence Office for Small Business Growth, which is supporting dozens of SMEs already. We are also increasing direct spend with SMEs and reducing contracting time to enable SMEs to bid for more defence contracts.”
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“We are a Government that are backing UK jobs as we rebuild our armed forces, and we are also delivering for our people.”
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“The UK’s armed forces are leading the way, deploying advanced autonomous minehunting equipment and new uncrewed boats and drones, and working alongside the heavy metal of HMS Dragon deploying to the middle east with its cutting-edge Sea Viper counter-drone system. That is because innovation, hard power and the ability to sustain it are the currency of our more dangerous and unpredictable age. Hard power is the essential building block of effective deterrence, and our deterrence is our insurance policy against the growing threats we face as a nation. That is why this Government are investing in hard power—investing over £270 billion in defence over this Parliament. Defence innovation is working twice: once for national security and once for British industry. That is the Labour way.”
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“Our armed forces are working around the clock, protecting our homeland, our allies and our interests, equipped with some of the most advanced capabilities in the world. The effective closure of the strait of Hormuz is hurting all our constituents right across this country. They see it in their newsfeeds, feel it at the petrol pumps and pay for it through rising bills. This Government are determined to do all we can to end that pain as soon as we can. We have stepped up to lead a multinational response. The Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary have built and co-chair a new 40-nation coalition, united in our mission to secure the strait of Hormuz as soon as a lasting ceasefire is in place.”
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“I know Members across the House will join me and the Prime Minister, who did so earlier, in sending our condolences to the family and friends of Lance Bombardier Ciara Sullivan, a gifted soldier and horsewoman who died on Friday—a young leader, a young life taken too soon. His Majesty opened his Gracious Speech with a warning: “An increasingly dangerous and volatile world threatens the United Kingdom”. As we debate our response in this Chamber, our armed forces are on missions across the world, facing down those threats, strengthening our alliances, defending our overseas bases and overseas territories, and preparing for missions to the High North, the strait of Hormuz and a post-ceasefire Ukraine.”
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