Alan Strickland MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 18 Dec 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My constituents Mellissa and Nikita were left devastated a few months ago when their four-month-old puppy was mauled to death in the streets by XL bullies that had escaped from a nearby house. Nikita, who is just 18, needed hospital treatment for the serious wounds that she sustained in the attack. The family is campaigning to reduce the risk of further attacks like this around the country involving dangerous breeds. Will the Leader of the House help me meet the relevant Minister to discuss how the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is being implemented and whether there is more that the Government, police and other agencies can do to reduce the risk of such incidents happening in future?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Christmas Adjournment · Hansard source

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  I have three minutes to celebrate three fantastic community organisations. Since Chance Drama in Ferryhill was established in 2017, it has trained hundreds of local young people from across my constituency in theatre arts, singing, dancing and performing. It was brilliant to have recently been in the audience for its production of “Bugsy Malone”, in which the cast had great fun covering themselves, and most of the audience, with what came out of their splurge guns. It was really heartening to talk to parents during the interval and after the show, and to hear how being involved in local community drama had transformed the skills, confidence and experiences of their children, and of young people in our community. The tireless volunteers, who put on several shows a year and work at weekends to train young people, deserve our thanks and support. In Spennymoor—the heart of my constituency—the St Paul’s centre has been running excellent community facilities for some years, including an art and photography group, Dementia Friends and a really active bereavement support group, which I met recently. The centre has just opened a new extension, so that it can expand its food bank, but also so that it can do more for the local community. When it opened as a parish hall, it had an annual footfall of around 3,000 visits a year, but now the figure is 34,000. St Paul’s centre in Spennymoor is an excellent example of how a really well led community centre can be a thriving community hub. Finally, in my home town of Newton Aycliffe, we have a new community hub, which is just fantastic. It is run by Lifeline Community Action, and its vision is to convert a disused shop in the town centre. It was formerly a Woolworths, where I happily bought many pick ’n’ mixes and lots of cassettes, like “Now 95”, back in the day. It has been empty for 15 years, but Lifeline Community Action has bought the building, with support from the national lottery community fund and funding from the UK shared prosperity fund. Its vision is to bring 20 local organisations into the building, so that residents can walk into a warm, friendly, safe and comfortable environment where they could get job advice and mental health support, or buy heavily discounted food from the community pantry, if they were in financial need. They would be able to see the local police team, meet social workers, volunteer and get involved in a range of activities. I pay particular tribute to Pauline Chambers, the director, who has worked tirelessly for years to raise the huge amount of money that this really impressive project has required, and to Andy Boyd, recently retired after 30 years as a police sergeant in my home town, who has taken it from strength to strength. Those are three brilliant organisations, and I am really proud of all the work they do. Merry Christmas, Madam Deputy Speaker!

• 18 Dec 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s announcement that readiness levels have been revised and increased so that, if a just peace can be successfully negotiated, forces are ready to deploy to prevent future Russian aggression. Will the Minister set out to the House the extent to which the coalition of the willing is ready for such a significant deployment and commitment and—if he can comment—what force elements might be deployed first?

• 16 Dec 2025 · Electoral Resilience · Hansard source

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  Does the Secretary of State agree that this appalling case of a senior Reform politician being jailed for accepting Russian bribes shows that the corrupt Putin regime is not only cyber-attacking our national infrastructure and interfering with our critical infrastructure under the sea with its shadow fleet, but trying to attack the very heart of our democracy itself? Can he explain how, when this review is concluded, the full powers and resources that might be recommended for the police, the security services and the other agencies that can protect our democracy will be provided?

• 15 Dec 2025 · Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to speak in support of the Bill, particularly as a Member of Parliament representing a proud manufacturing seat. Our country as a whole has a proud tradition as one of the world’s leading trading nations, and exports remain a critical part of our modern economy. Here at home, British companies continue to lead the way through innovation, research and development and high-tech manufacturing, building on our rich industrial history, but we all know that the global marketplace is changing rapidly, so it is crucial that to deliver the Government’s growth mission to spread prosperity across the country—including to constituencies like mine in the north-east—Ministers have the flexibility they need to support businesses in a changing world. That includes the provisions in the Bill to increase the funding cap for Government support to industry and increase the financial support provided by UK Export Finance to British businesses. There are three reasons why these changes are important. First, it is crucial that we can support UK firms to compete in an increasingly complex and contested global economy, as other hon. Members have mentioned. As we see the growth of tariffs and protectionism making world markets harder to navigate, it is right that UK Export Finance should have an increased ability to provide the financial support that exporting businesses need. I see that in my own constituency, which is home to a number of world-class companies who trade their products all over the world. Between them, they employ many thousands of local residents. They include innovative SMEs such as Filtronic, which recently secured a £47 million global order for satellite communications technologies; Kromek, which supplies radiation and biological weapon detection equipment to the US, Ukraine and our European allies; and Roman in my home town of Newton Aycliffe, whose showers and bathroom products are sold to hotel chains all over the world. Those manufacturing businesses, designing the next generation of products—each leaders in their respective fields—are exactly the enterprises that we as a Government want to encourage and support. That is why increasing the limit on UK Export Finance funding, and the Government’s wider work on these matters to support modern manufacturing, is so crucial. Secondly, I am proud that the Government are prepared to intervene to support British business to thrive, acting confidently to crowd in investment and to step in to support the long-term future of major industries. Unfortunately, as we have seen over many years in the north-east, that stands in sharp contrast to the previous Conservative Government, who too often stood by while businesses failed, jobs were lost and regional economies were damaged when strategic intervention by the state could have made all the difference. Of course, this is not a power that should be used lightly, but it can be an important tool when Government intervention can be the deciding factor. We have seen the value of this approach since Labour came to office in the decisive action taken at British Steel in Scunthorpe and at Jaguar Land Rover in the west midlands. I am proud that this Labour Government do not just talk about supporting modern industry but roll up their sleeves and get on with it. The third and final reason is that while innovation, ingenuity and industrial prowess are found across our nation, for too long that has not been matched by an equitable spread of Government support across the many communities we serve. Since the election, I have been pleased to see UK Export Finance and other Government funds support businesses in a wide range of communities, and financial support for industry provided in traditional manufacturing areas that have often previously missed out. To kick-start growth and ensure that that growth benefits everyone, it is important that innovative firms are supported wherever they are found. In conclusion, this Bill is very welcome, and as we work hard to support British firms in an increasingly complex global economy, it is vital that we give Ministers and Government bodies the flexibility they need to respond in an effective and agile way. The Minister said that this is a straightforward Bill, but as part of the wider package of measures we are taking to support industry and exports, the positive impacts that these measures could have on growing our economy and supporting UK business will be incredibly important.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. Last week, I was proud to meet Filtronic, a leading satellite communications business at NETPark that is part of a growing space cluster. How will Ministers from the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology work together to champion our innovative space industry?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Ajax Armoured Vehicle · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for the action that he has taken on Ajax. As other Members have said, this relates not only to issues in that programme but to long-running issues in defence procurement, which, as I know from businesses in my constituency, is often too slow and too expensive and fails to deliver the effective kit that our men and women in uniform deserve. Once the investigations are concluded—as mentioned by the Minister—how will the lessons be taken forward into the implementation of the Defence Industrial Strategy and other action to ensure that our courageous service people get the right kit, at the right price, at the right time?

• 13 Nov 2025 · Water Sector Reform · Hansard source

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  It is crucial that the Government have the powers to crack down on polluting companies, but the Environment Agency’s budget was cut by half by the previous Conservative Government. What will this Government do to make it quicker and easier to fine the companies polluting our rivers with raw sewage?

• 13 Nov 2025 · Water Sector Reform · Hansard source

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  8. What steps she is taking to reform the water sector.

• 30 Oct 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I was proud to welcome thousands of visitors to my constituency recently to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington railway, but we want to build a permanent tourism legacy. Will the Leader of the House help me to meet the relevant Minister to discuss whether we could put forward this fantastic, historic line to be a UNESCO world heritage site?

• 29 Oct 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q5. I am speaking on behalf of my constituents Shannon and Tyler, who lost their two-year-old son Hudson earlier this year. Worried about their son, they called 111 and were told that he had gastroenteritis. In fact, Hudson had a twisted bowel and, after being rushed to hospital a few days later, he tragically died. Shannon and Tyler are full of praise for the NHS medical staff who worked so hard to save their son’s life, but they just wish they had been offered an in-person appointment sooner, which might have given a more accurate diagnosis. They want Hudson’s legacy to be better access to face-to-face NHS appointments for children under five, so that other families do not face this tragic situation. Their online petition on the matter has gained over 80,000 signatures. Will the Prime Minister join me in sending the best wishes of the House to Hudson’s family, and will he ensure that they meet a Health Minister to discuss their courageous campaign?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q12. Central to growing our economy is delivering major events that drive footfall and investment. Does the Prime Minister share my disappointment that since Reform took over the running of Durham county council, it has slashed funding for Durham Pride, which brings in 20,000 people a year— [ Interruption. ] Reform Members cannot cope with accountability, Mr Speaker. Reform has also cancelled the Lumiere festival, which has brought nearly 1.5 million people into County Durham since it started. This will undermine businesses and communities. Does the Prime Minister agree that if Reform cannot run one county council, it certainly cannot run Scotland, Wales or our United Kingdom?

• 10 Sept 2025 · Stockton and Darlington Railway: 200th Anniversary Festival · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his incredibly powerful points. He was quite right to say earlier that the north-east has been a cradle of railway ingenuity for many years, and we want to recapture that spirit. We want to recapture high-quality manufacturing in the area—many of us here have worked hard to save the Hitachi rail factory. The link between the past and our future, a bright future that we need to fight hard for, is incredibly important as shown in the contributions of my hon. Friends the Members for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) and for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer) about how Middlesbrough grew from hamlet to city, thanks to the arrival of rail. We also heard about the historical link to Carlisle and the important role that the city has played, which shows just how quickly rail spread across the north of England. I am sure we will all be visiting York to see the new gallery and the exciting developments at the National Railway Museum. My hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) made important points about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the link to the modern world that we can draw from that industrial heritage. As my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) mentioned, Derby has already had an extraordinary festival this year: 40,000 attendees is clearly the number to beat, and we will do our best in the north-east. It is fantastic that this year, and particularly this summer, there have been fantastic festivals around the United Kingdom to celebrate this important part of our history. I thank all hon. Members for taking part in this debate, and say, “See you in the north-east!”. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the heritage festival of the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

• 10 Sept 2025 · Stockton and Darlington Railway: 200th Anniversary Festival · Hansard source

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  I thank all hon. Members from across the House who took part in the debate today. I thank the Minister for her very generous summary and for acknowledging colleagues who worked so hard on this anniversary, and I thank the Opposition spokespeople for their excellent speeches. It is wonderful to hear that across the country, there is real pride in our railway heritage and in the heritage lines that continue today: the Bowes railway line, the Isle of Wight steam railway and the Boulby line. There is also the Leamside line, which my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) has campaigned tirelessly to turn from history to reality.

• 10 Sept 2025 · Stockton and Darlington Railway: 200th Anniversary Festival · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is absolutely right that it is only by understanding the rich social and cultural heritage across our United Kingdom that we can look properly at and understand the future. I understand he is also a doughty champion for his constituency, from time to time. The Stockton and Darlington railway made a great difference. The world’s first railway carriage—quite rightly called “Experiment”—was brought into being. Thankfully, railway companies have slightly upgraded their carriages since the coal wagons were used. Station waiting rooms had to be invented because passengers did not want to wait in the rain; without their invention, David Lean could never have filmed “Brief Encounter”. Railway bridges such as Skerne bridge in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Lola McEvoy), which is the oldest continuously used railway bridge in the world; signalling systems; railway pubs including one where passengers’ pints were pulled by the first woman to work for a railway company, Mary Simpson; and of course iron tracks fixed to railway sleepers to a set gauge—they all had to be invented for the first time by the railway. Each of those elements of travel, used around the globe, traces its evolution to this extraordinary piece of history. This could not have just happened anywhere; it could only have happened in the north-east. Our region had the key ingredients for this railway revolution: coal under our feet to power the engines; world-leading inventors and engineers, such as George Stephenson and his son Robert, who spent 10 years experimenting with tracks, locomotives and all the parts that make up the railway; and dynamic entrepreneurs, such as local Quaker Edward Pease, whose investment in this groundbreaking technology was critical to its success. It is difficult to overstate how important that first journey was. Most importantly, it was proof of concept. It showed that rail travel could work for passengers, not just goods, and by connecting people, raw materials, markets and ports it helped unleash the industrial revolution as never before. It also changed how we all live. Changing the way people were connected to each other fundamentally altered Britain socially, culturally and economically. It had a huge impact on all aspects of our lives. For the first time, working-class people could afford to travel far from the town or village they were born in, powering social mobility. For the first time, people could commute to work, with the railway allowing businesses to diversify and expand their workforces. For the first time, working people could travel for their holidays. Saltburn, in the Redcar constituency, became one of the world’s first tourist resorts, with a hotel that trains pulled up to directly, so that passengers and their luggage could move seamlessly from carriage to room. That first journey might well have led to the world’s first package holiday, when a pub landlord in Shildon in the Bishop Auckland constituency sold return tickets to Stockton races, which included the price of race admission. Passenger rail also transformed sport, leisure and the way we come together in society. In 1882, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway put on special trains to transport 2,000 fans to the FA cup semi-final in Huddersfield. Did you know, Mr Stringer, that it is the early railways we have to thank for modern timekeeping? As villages, towns and cities became more connected, it no longer made sense for each place to keep its own local time based on the sun’s position in the sky. That was found to be slightly impractical. For reliable railway timetables to be created, the UK embraced a single unified standard time across the whole country, which we had never done before. The event genuinely changed the world for ever, bringing us into the modern age. We have a proud history of celebrating our region and country getting the world on track 200 years ago. On the 100th anniversary, local schoolchildren were given specially made medals. For the 150th celebrations, quite extraordinarily, special cans were distributed containing steam from Locomotion No. 1. I am not clear how that worked. It is brilliant that we have been celebrating the 200th anniversary across the country with the Railway 200 campaign. In the north-east, the S&DR200 festival includes more than 40 events from film screenings to steam train galas. I am delighted it is being supported by the Arts Council, the Heritage Fund, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport—for which I thank the Minister—and Transport Ministers including Lord Hendy, a renowned steam train buff whom I met earlier. I am also incredibly proud that a newly renovated replica of Locomotion No. 1 and its passenger carriage will travel along sections of the original line, including Skerne bridge in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington, where the Hopetown museum has been refurbished. My hon. Friend is working hard to include the local community, including by developing a blue plaque scheme to celebrate the railway heritage of that proud town. It is also fitting that the train will pass through Heighington station, where this all began. Our history of innovative rail manufacturing continues just a few hundred yards away at the world-class Hitachi train factory, for which I was proud to campaign to secure a bright future. Thanks to Hitachi and the fantastic campaign by local volunteers of the Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, we have managed to secure the funds needed to renovate the historic station to its former glory and restore the building, which is of such national and global importance. As part of the festival, families will be able to come together to see what those cheering crowds saw 200 years ago. Perhaps, without knowing it, our ancestors witnessed a critical moment in the history of the way we live. It is with shared pride that I note that this incredible journey began not just in Britain, but in the constituencies of many of my colleagues who are here today. I hope that Members from all parties will join me in celebrating the marking of this incredible piece of our heritage, as well as the rich contribution that the events of 1825 made to our society, our shared culture and the way we live, work and spend our leisure time. My final message is this: if people are interested in this incredible history, whether they live in the United Kingdom or abroad, they should come and see us. Travel to the north-east for the huge range of events taking place throughout September. Let us make sure that the heritage festival celebrating the 200th anniversary of the incredible Stockton and Darlington railway is an enormous success.

• 10 Sept 2025 · Stockton and Darlington Railway: 200th Anniversary Festival · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend. She is a doughty champion for the city of Carlisle and has an astonishing knack of linking all subjects back to Carlisle’s rich heritage. We indeed celebrate its crucial contribution in this debate. Carlisle is lucky to have such a good advocate.

• 10 Sept 2025 · Stockton and Darlington Railway: 200th Anniversary Festival · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the heritage festival of the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. This month we celebrate a pivotal moment in our history: the first steam-powered passenger train, which marked the birth of public rail travel as we know it and had a profound impact on the social, cultural and industrial heritage of Britain and countries around the world. Two hundred years ago, on 26 September 1825, the world’s first passenger locomotive was put on the tracks outside the world’s first passenger train station: Aycliffe Lane, now Heighington station, in my constituency. Locomotion No. 1, designed by Newcastle engineer George Stephenson, was about to make history. On the following day, when the train left Shildon in the Bishop Auckland constituency, steam-hauled passenger railways began and passenger rail was born. More than 450 passengers in converted coal wagons passed through my hometown of Newton Aycliffe, then through Darlington, where the train was greeted by 10,000 people, before reaching the outskirts of Stockton around half past 3 in the afternoon. All modern railways, across the globe, trace their beginnings back to that journey and that incredible part of our heritage. I want to set out, with enormous pride, the impact the event went on to have around the world; the way it transformed our society, culture and leisure time; and how we will celebrate the heritage of our groundbreaking railway with a major cultural festival this year. The contribution of that first journey was enormous. It endowed the north-east and our country with a rich heritage of innovation, inventiveness and ingenuity. It seems strange to think it now, but, because the Stockton and Darlington railway brought passenger rail into being for the first time, it led to the invention of many things that we have long taken for granted.

• 4 Sept 2025 · People Smuggling · Hansard source

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  To stop the small boats, it is crucial that the Labour Government provide global leadership to smash the criminal gangs. Can the Solicitor General set out the work that we are doing with other countries to secure our borders and end this appalling trade in human life?

• 4 Sept 2025 · People Smuggling · Hansard source

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  9. What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of people smugglers.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right that the range of skills that our servicemen and women develop, particularly as we move into a rapidly evolving technical warfighting age, set people in good stead for their future careers. On my RAF visits, station commanders often complain that because they have trained people so well, their personnel are snapped up by the private sector. One of the things the review mentions is that this does not have to be a binary choice. As my hon. Friend said, there could better opportunities and more sophisticated ways of encouraging people to get trained in the military and contribute. If they move into the private sector for a while and come back into the military full time or go to the reserves, or take part in defence manufacturing, they stay within the defence family, but move around. We actively support that because it means keeping those skills in the wider sector. I would be grateful if the Minister can set out what more we can do to ensure that schools, colleges and universities do not shy away from talking about military careers, but actively encourage and embrace them. What message will he send to people in the north-east, of all backgrounds and ages, about why they should seriously consider lending their time to UK defence? As I draw my remarks to a conclusion, let us in this Chamber send a very clear message. If you are a young person looking for an exciting and challenging career, get involved in your local cadets. If you have the specialist skills that Britain needs for defence in a highly technological age, why not share them through the reserves? Be one of our new cyber warfighters. If you are an employer with staff who want to lend their talents to our armed forces, back them, support them and encourage them. And if you are considering how you might have a fulfilling career that develops the skills that my hon. Friend mentioned, why not consider becoming a regular and joining the forces? Of course, the fundamental reason that this is so incredibly important—the reason why we must think so hard about these opportunities and challenges—is that our final message from this Chamber should be this: if you are a hostile nation, if you are an adversary of the UK and our NATO allies, we will in the next few years be taking major steps to recruit a new generation of world-leading warfighters who will provide world-class defence and deterrence.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  I thank all hon. Members who have taken part today, and you, Dr Allin-Khan, for your excellent chairing, which has kept us in good order. I also thank the Lib Dem spokesperson, the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin). He said in his comments that he was slightly terrified of all the angry Geordies and Mackems coming at him in battle; I hope we were not too scary today. I am sorry to hear that the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) did not make it as a commando, but his 14-and-a-half-year service to our country does us proud, as does the service of the shadow Ministers. In Armed Forces Week, I thank everyone who serves in uniform to defend our nation, all veterans who have served, the armed forces charities that do brilliant work, and the armed forces families who sacrifice so much so that our nation can be so well defended. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered armed forces recruitment in the North East.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to set out the vital role that our cadet forces play, not only in encouraging young people to think seriously about the armed forces, but in developing their skills, teamwork, leadership and a range of really valuable things that we want young people in the north-east to be able to access. In addition to the cadets, we need to be innovative in rethinking how we recruit to our reserve forces. There will be many in the north-east and across our communities who have specialist skills that are of huge value to the armed forces, but who may not be able to serve full time. By establishing the digital warfighter group recommended in the SDR and promoting a range of other opportunities, we could provide flexible and fulfilling part-time roles for those with the skills that we really need. Also, let us look at the opportunities to retrain and reskill our existing personnel, so that our modern warfighters evolve as quickly as modern warfare. Finally, I will talk about how we can better harness our armed forces as an engine of social mobility.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend, the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, for that intervention. She is right that as well as making sure that we recruit from the north-east and that there are opportunities there, through the work that is happening on the defence industrial strategy, there must be an opening up of procurement opportunities not just across our region, but particularly for high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises. We know that, for too long, they have been excluded from defence contracts in our country. Just as our renewed defence industries can be an engine for growth across our country, our efforts to transform recruitment can be a powerful engine for social mobility, spreading opportunity more widely across our nation. When meeting RAF personnel as part of the armed forces parliamentary scheme, I have been struck by the extent to which careers in our military can genuinely transform lives. On one of my first visits to a base, I met a young recruit from Tyneside, who said that being in the RAF had given him opportunities he could never have dreamed of. He was a working-class lad and he said that many from his family had struggled to find and secure jobs. He proudly told me that the RAF had trained him, trusted him and invested in him. The Air Force gave him the chance to train as a world-class engineer, broadened his horizons and allowed him to work all over the globe—all by his early 20s. I have had inspiring conversations like that at base after base. It has been brilliant to hear at first hand just what a difference military careers can make. In the north-east—a region where, for too long, opportunities have not been spread as widely as talent—the routes our military provides into world-class skills development are all the more powerful and all the more needed. I would be grateful if the Minister can set out how we can show more young people in the north-east that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (Mary Glindon) mentioned, supporting our armed forces—whether that is through the cadets, reserves or regulars—could not only make a huge difference to our collective defence, but have a transformational impact on their lives.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her helpful intervention, and I entirely agree. I, too, have had casework in my constituency involving people who are keen to join the forces, but whose applications have been lost or delayed. In other cases, medical checks have never been booked. I hope that the Minister will set out some of the practical steps that will be taken to speed up the process. The problems that we are discussing have hampered recruitment efforts and led to the loss of highly skilled applicants, and we must tackle that. The top priority must be to deliver faster, more flexible and more dynamic recruitment that delivers at pace the new generations of talented servicemen and women that we need. I turn to attracting the high-tech warfighting skills that we require. As we know, the nature of warfare has changed dramatically in the last few years, and in the appalling conflict in Ukraine, we see it evolving rapidly every single day. In response to that, the strategic defence review makes it clear that our warfighters need a broader range of skills across a wider range of professional and technical specialisms. That is because we need to defend and deter across the five domains of modern warfare— air, land, sea, cyber and space—all of which are developing at pace. I see that clearly in my constituency and across the north-east, where, alongside the manufacture of conventional defence supplies, we have a growing cluster of world-leading space and satellite businesses, many of which are involved in defence. This rapid innovation means that our military personnel not only need to be skilled in deploying the latest technologies, but must be able to use the full range of defence capabilities in a seamless and integrated way to project maximum force. How do we make sure that people with this evolving and sophisticated range of skills can be successfully recruited into the armed forces? First, we need to find ways of making roles in the regular forces attractive to those who might not have traditionally seen defence as a career option for them. That means convincing cyber experts, satellite engineers, drone operators and those from a range of high-tech industries and jobs in science, technology, engineering and maths that a career in uniform could be a valuable use of their talents.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered armed forces recruitment in the North East. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. It is an honour to lead this debate in Armed Forces Week, as we take time to mark the huge contribution that our service personnel make to the security of the UK and our allies. As we celebrate their public service, in this debate we will discuss how to recruit the next generation of warfighters that our country needs. There has never been a more important time for this discussion. The recent strategic defence review called for “a landmark shift in our deterrence and defence…moving to warfighting readiness to deter threats and strengthen security”. A step change in how we recruit must be a fundamental part of that. As a region with a proud history of supporting our armed forces, the north-east can make a significant contribution in the future. I will make three points today. First, I will talk about transforming armed forces recruitment to meet the rapidly evolving threats that we face. Secondly, I will explain how we can attract the high-tech warfighting skills that we need for the future. Finally, I will discuss how we can modernise recruitment to harness our armed forces as an engine of social mobility. Let me start with transforming armed forces recruitment to meet the rapidly emerging threats. From the many visits that I have made to RAF bases at home and abroad as part of the armed forces parliamentary scheme, and having met service personnel in my constituency, it is clear that our armed forces’ greatest asset is their people. They demonstrate extraordinary commitment, resilience and professionalism day in, day out, and I am sure we can all agree that our men and women in uniform represent the very best of British public service. But as the Defence Secretary said: “The world has changed. The threats we now face are more serious and less predictable than at any time since the Cold War”. That means we need to look again at how we make sure we have the right people in the right numbers, and with the right skills, across our armed forces. How do we do that? First, we need a step change in the number of people joining the regular forces and the reserves to give us the mass that we need to meet evolving threats. In doing so, we need to tackle the recruitment crisis that Ministers inherited from the last Government. It is incredibly disappointing that in the last four years, the number of people joining the regular forces fell by 40% in the north-east region. Across the country, it fell by just under a third. Over the last year, we have seen a welcome 19% increase in recruits, but as Ministers have made clear, there is much more to do. To improve the scale of recruitment, we must transform its speed. It is vital that military recruitment, like all other aspects of UK defence, quickly starts operating at a wartime pace. For too long, new entrants have faced bureaucratic barriers, delays to medical screening and outdated restrictions on pre-existing conditions. This has meant that the length of time between filling in an application form and donning a uniform has often been too long.