Burnley, Padiham, and Brierfield MP backing defence investment in the North West

Labour’s defence investment programme aims to strengthen the area’s role as a national hub for defence, engineering, and manufacturing. This includes £633m of regional investment and 13 potential sites for new munitions and energetics factories, with construction on the first expected next year.

The announcement aims to reinforce the strategic importance of the area’s aerospace and defence supply chain:

- BAE Systems Samlesbury and Warton, which deliver the UK’s combat air capability and employ Burnley and Padiham residents.

- A network of supply-chain firms from Blackburn to Colne, including precision engineers, machinists, and advanced manufacturers who stand to benefit from increased domestic production.

- Strong apprenticeship pathways, aligning with the 24,000 Ministry of Defence apprenticeships supported nationwide.

MP Oliver Ryan said: “Burnley, Padiham, and Brierfield have a proud defence and manufacturing heritage, and Labour is finally giving our region the backing it deserves. The biggest uplift of defence spending since the Cold War not only drives growth across the country, revitalising our industrial heartlands – but it defends our great nation from the threats which come our way.

“My priority is jobs and security for Burnley, Padiham, and Brierfield – and this approach delivers exactly that.”

The new factories – backed by £1.5bn this Parliament – will create at least 1,000 highly skilled jobs nationally, including engineers, electricians, machinists, fitters, and construction workers.

This follows £4.8bn in defence expenditure, supporting 20,100 defence jobs in the North West, with 86% of over 1,000 major defence contracts going to UK-based businesses in the last 17 months.