(Image: PA)
At no point in my lifetime has the threat of war loomed as large as it does today.
To prevent the worst, we must prepare for it, which is why this government is making the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.
With that investment comes an opportunity to strengthen the North East economy, rebuild its industrial base, and create better opportunities for the next generation.
That is the defence dividend – and it is already being felt here in the North East.
Defence spends £198 million in the North East and directly supports 900 jobs – not to mention thousands more in the supply chain and support industries.
The North East is also home to critical artillery and tank munitions work with BAE UK and the largest commercial dry dock on the east coast of England, run by A&P Group, alongside key military hubs including RAF Boulmer and Otterburn Training Area.
So you know here in the North East that Britain’s defence depends not only on the strength of our Armed Forces but also the strength of our factories, engineering works and manufacturing plants.
Almost 70 per cent of defence investment is already spent outside London and the South East.
But there is more we can do to fulfil the Prime Minister’s mission to bring growth to every postcode and put hope in every heart.
We are investing £298 billion in defence over the next four years, giving us the chance to repair the damage of Britain’s old economic model where too many places were expected to live with their decline.
Here in the North East, you have the businesses, universities, workforce and industrial heritage to make that happen.
My job is to connect those strengths to the investment now coming into defence.
That means building long-term partnerships between major defence companies, small businesses, colleges and trade unions.
Major programmes should carry an expectation that they build skills and supply chains across Britain, including here in the North East.
That, in turn, will mean more young people see their future here.
There is neither an economic nor a moral justification for our defence sector hiring thousands of workers from abroad when we have one million young people out of work here at home.
Defence firms in the North East can help change the odds with high-quality apprenticeships in engineering, digital technology, cyber, nuclear and advanced manufacturing.
That is important because investment in our defence will only command lasting public support if people can see how it improves their lives.
Every pound we invest should be judged by what it does for Britain and for the North East.
Does it strengthen local economies?
Does it create an apprenticeship for someone’s daughter?
Does it support a family business?
That is what national renewal looks like at a local level.
Backing the people, places and businesses that strengthen our national security and drive economic growth.
We are living in a new age of insecurity.
The threats we face are real and they are getting closer to home.
But with that challenge comes opportunity.
Across the North East, you are showing what that can mean: defence delivered by British workers and British businesses.
That is how we will build a country ready to fight and a Britain worth fighting for.