30 June 2026

Luke Myer MP has welcomed the publication of the Government’s long-awaited Defence Investment Plan, describing it as a major step forward for Britain’s armed forces, and Teesside manufacturing.

The Defence Investment Plan is backed by £298 billion of investment across the next four years, including £15bn of additional spending on top of last year’s Spending Review. It comes as the UK faces an increasingly dangerous global context, with conflicts raging across several continents, growing Russian aggression, and technology rapidly changing the character of warfare. The DIP will see an increase in defence funding from £54 billion a year under the previous government to almost £80 billion a year by 2029, and will see the UK’s defence spending increase to 2.7% of GDP.

In particular, the plan commits more than £5 billion over the next four years to transform the UK’s drone and autonomous capabilities, alongside new warships, greater investment in British industry and a faster, more agile approach to defence procurement. It follows months of sustained pressure from Luke, who repeatedly called in Parliament for the plan to be published and to provide the certainty manufacturers need to invest, recruit and grow.

Luke has consistently argued that national security and economic security must go hand in hand;

• In January last year, in Parliament, he called for more support for SMEs to gain access to defence contracts (Hansard, 28/01/25). He has continued to push for defence manufacturing jobs, particularly in steel (Hansard 04/02/25; 02/04/25; 13/05/25; 19/05/25; 07/01/26; 8/06/26; 09/06/26; 10/06/26).
• In May last year, he led a debate on the defence industry in the North East, urging ministers to build more in the region (Hansard, 13/05/25). He continued to advocate for the “Teesside defence and innovation cluster” to access the defence supply chain (Hansard, 07/01/26).
• In April this year, following a visit to HMS Duncan, he spoke in Parliament about “the need to move at pace to scale up our hybrid naval capabilities […] drawing on the strengths of north-east industry (Hansard, 13/04/26).
• In June this year, he called for the Defence Investment Plan to be published, but warned that it must be flexible enough to keep pace with the rapidly evolving drone capabilities being deployed in Ukraine (Hansard, 10/06/26).

Luke welcomed the commitments in today’s plan to moving towards a hybrid navy with £1.5bn investment, supporting manufacturing SMEs, investing in anti-drone capabilities, and scaling up defence readiness. He also welcomed the commitment from the Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis to draw on the “full spectrum of our industrial base to make the DIP a success“, creating nearly 60,000 extra UK industry jobs across Britain.

The publication of the plan follows the recent resignations of former Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who called to strengthen the DIP. Luke paid tribute to the courage they showed in shining a spotlight on the plan to ensure it better reflected the requirements the armed forces need.

Luke Myer MP said:

“This is a significant moment for Britain’s security and for Britain’s industrial future. The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have shown that warfare is changing at extraordinary speed. We cannot afford procurement systems that move at yesterday’s pace when technology is evolving in a matter of weeks.

“I have been consistently calling for this plan to be published, for it to acknowledge the need for hybrid naval capabilities and anti-drone capabilities, and for our brilliant manufacturing SMEs to play a key role in delivery. It is encouraging to see those principles reflected in today’s plan.

“I also want to pay tribute to John Healey and Al Carns for their courage in speaking out, sacrificing their positions in order to ensure this plan is stronger, more ambitious and more focused on getting cutting-edge capability into the hands of our Armed Forces.

“Teesside and the wider North East have been building the equipment that keeps Britain safe for generations. From steel and precision engineering to advanced manufacturing and defence innovation, our region has the skills, the businesses and the workforce to play an even bigger role in strengthening our national security. This plan provides an opportunity to build more in Britain, support more British jobs and ensure our defence industries continue to thrive for decades to come.”

Former Defence Minister Al Carns said:

“I resigned from government because the original plan was not transformative enough nor financed correctly. The extra £1.5 billion the PM has found is a recognition of the argument I and good Labour colleagues have been making from inside government for months.

“Modern warfare is being decided by drones, autonomy, cyber and industrial resilience, and the language in the DIP does begin to reflect that reality.”