On a cloudy April morning, Sir Keir Starmer donned a hi-vis jacket and hard hat to tour the site most underused by the Labor leader visited more than 30 years ago.
At the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, Britain's potential future prime minister delighted workers as he oversaw the construction of a huge nuclear submarine.
Labour's commitment to continued nuclear deterrence at sea was «unshakable», he told them, noting just hours earlier that defense was the «number one issue for any government».
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The visit was called for show the difference between Starmer and his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn.
The nuclear deterrent, which requires the constant patrol of at least one Royal Navy submarine, is intended to form the basis of UK national security.
Sir Keir Starmer was the first Labor leader in decades to visit BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
But under Corbyn, Labour's commitment to the system was constantly questioned. . The longtime anti-nuclear activist has refused to say whether he is willing to use it and has even called for it to be abandoned on several occasions.
His soft stance on Trident was repeatedly highlighted during the 2017 and 2019 election campaigns as one of reasons why voters could not trust Labor to keep the country safe. Corbyn also refused to say whether he would honor Britain's pledge to come to the aid of its NATO allies.
Since replacing Corbyn, Starmer has spent four years pursuing efforts to restore the Labor Party's defense powers and neutralize former members of his party. vulnerabilities.
He has been successful: according to the polling company YouGov, voter confidence in Labor in terms of security is now almost on par with the Conservatives.
But as the election approaches, big questions remain unanswered about what the party will actually do. in force. Is Labor prepared to fund a larger defense budget at a time when experts and politicians say the world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place? And can Starmer count on his party's support to mobilize the military if necessary?
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine and fears that China might invade Taiwan, such questions are more pressing than at any time in generations.
The range of threats that need to be addressed is starkly different from what the last time the party came to power was during the peace dividend era in the 1990s.
Grant Shapps, the defense secretary, went so far as to accuse Labor of being «a danger to this country.»
«You can't want more defense spending,» he told Sky News on last month. “Labour's position will send a message to our opponents that we are not serious about defense.”
Separately, he pointed to the 47 Labor MPs who voted against extending Trident and Starmer's service in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet. as proof that Labor cannot be trusted.
“Many of Starmer's inner circle, the people who will form the government and run our lives, do not support our nuclear deterrent,” he said in a video on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“How are you? » just four years ago Keir Starmer was content to back Corbyn for abandoning our national security, and today he says he has changed his mind? Actions often speak louder than words.»
Labor sources say the Conservatives have also not properly calculated the amount of the promised 2.5% contribution.
When Sunak announced the rise, he said it would be paid for by reducing the number of civil servants to pre-existing levels. Brexit, a position that the IFS called a “shot in the dark.”
A Labor source adds: «We are fully committed to 2.5%, but in contrast we simply don't have access to the same information as the government, so it would be borderline irresponsible to make big announcements about the timing now.
“The fact is that the Tories created the budget deficit, and their 2.5% figures don't add up.
“They could have announced this spending increase during the last budget, when it would have been scrutinized by the Office for Budget Responsibility, but they chose not to – and that tells you everything.”
Healey accused the Tories of overseeing «14 years of defence failure that has left our armed forces depleted and underfunded» and the army reduced to its smallest size since Napoleon (around 72,500 personnel).
However, in some parts of the armed forces, Labour is struggling to make progress. Some are alarmed by the party's response to the Tories' proposal for a new form of national service.
Earlier this week, a senior Army source told The Telegraph: “I believe Labour's dismissive and belittling response is a mistake and unhelpful. This is too important an issue to play politics with.” (The source added the disclaimer that «the Tories were also shameless.»)
On Friday, a Labor Party spokesman said Starmer «knows that the first duty of any government is to keep the nation safe and protect its citizens.» , adding: “Labour is proud of our deep roots in defending the country and the role we played in the creation of NATO and our nuclear deterrent.
“Our commitment to NATO is unwavering and Labour's support for nuclear deterrence is total. We will always do what is necessary and spend what is necessary to keep this country safe.»
This is a sentiment that Starmer and his team will be keen to bring home in the coming weeks as they try to reassure the country that that she is safe. in a very real sense it is safe to vote for the Labor Party.
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