Andy Burnham promises to 'reindustrialise' Portsmouth defence while 'taking power' to put it into south coast
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The new prime minister is pushing for further devolution powers, while stating that communities in the south of England won’t be left out
Defence businesses in the Portsmouth area will be reindustrialised and boosted by government action, the new prime minister has said.
Andy Burnham has given his pledge of support for the sector on the south coast of England. Speaking to reporters at HMNB Portsmouth on Monday (July 27), he said his devolution plans will involve “taking power from Whitehall and Westminster”, in an effort to “put i into communities on the south coast”.
“We believe places can do what Greater Manchester has done,” he added. “People can build so much more for themselves. I want people to know here that I will fully support all of our communities.
“There is a big reindustrialisation opportunity here, particularly for defence in Portsmouth. People should expect to see plenty of me.”
Earlier in the interview, Mr Burnham said defence will be a “top priority” given the threats the UK faces and the need to secure high-quality jobs. He used Portsmouth Naval Base as the hosting location to welcome Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The diplomatic showcase was to reinforce the UK’s support for the nation amid Russia’s illegal invasion. One company involved in the effort and looking to expand is Windracers in Segensworth, Fareham. It produces the Ultra dual-use heavy lift drone, which is already being supplied to Ukrainian forces on the front-line.
Founder and executive chairman Stephen Wright said Mr Burnham’s commitment is “superb”. He told The News: “We’re very committed to manufacturing our aircraft in the UK.
“To have that support from the prime minister is great. I look forward to building more of these and expanding our facilities.
“We’re a medium-sized enterprise at the moment, but our production is very scalable. It utilises a lot of automotive type skills and it’s an aluminium based aircraft. It’s a type of production where I think we can employ a lot of people from this area, to make more of these aircraft.
“We’re ready to scale up and we have plans to do that. We’re in the process of hopefully a big growth spurt.”
During the visit, Mr Burnham and Mr Zelenskyy met with British and Ukrainian personnel who took part in Exercise Sea Breeze, an extensive period of mine-hunting drills. Sailors are currently being trained ahead of future operations in the Black Sea, where they will be tasked with keeping the area safe from underwater explosives.