Luke Pollard MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is certainly right that it is really important to have an industrial base that can build autonomous helicopters and autonomous lift, and a number of players are already developing in that space. I want to be able to provide certainty to the workers at Leonardo on the future of the NMH, and that decision will be made in the DIP.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her question, as well as for the promotion she has given me! Since the general election, we have signed over 1,000 defence contracts, and more than 80% of those contracts have gone to UK companies. We will continue to use more of that increasing defence spending with UK firms, procuring with them wherever we possibly can. That is an important part of meeting the new threats we are facing as a nation and as a NATO alliance. We need to renew our armed forces, retiring old capabilities and bringing on new ones. The defence investment plan will set that out, and implement the approaches that were laid out so clearly in the strategic defence review.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  As the right hon. Gentleman was a Defence Minister in the last Government, he will understand the challenge of having an unfunded equipment programme that we are seeking to address in the defence investment plan. In relation to those he represents who work in Yeovil and Yeovilton—and indeed perhaps also in Culdrose, on the wider servicing of helicopters that Leonardo does, not just the building of them—we will be making a clear decision on the NMH in the defence investment plan. He will be aware that this procurement was bounded by the process. We will make a decision, we will not be timed out and we will not be altering the contract.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right about two things. First, defence is an engine for growth. That is why we are investing more of the increasing defence budget in British companies. Secondly, the Conservatives left huge swathes of their equipment programme unfunded—a problem that we are sorting out because of the mess that the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge) left.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is certainly right that we inherited a number of very old helicopters. That is one of the reasons that we made the decision to retire Puma—a helicopter that had in many cases been flying for many, many decades. We will continue to look at the military needs and to match those with the capabilities from a rise in the defence budget, but the NMH decision will be made in the DIP.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that there are important defence companies in her constituency, and across the country. We continue to place contracts with the defence industry, with more than 1,000 placed since the general election, and over 80% of those with UK firms, and that is an important continuation of our efforts to renew our armed forces. I entirely understand her argument that we want more investment and certainty, and when the defence investment plan is published—shortly, I hope—that will provide clarity on the kit we are buying, and in what order and sequence. That will help to support the growth of British businesses both large and small.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  Constituencies across the south-west of England and around the country stand to benefit from the increase in defence spending set out by the Chancellor: £5 billion for the defence budget this year, which will rise to 2.5% and then onwards. We know that we are living in a new era of threat, and we are renewing our armed forces as a result. Many of the contracts that we are placing now are for the newer end of technology—autonomous systems and latest capabilities. That retires some of the old capabilities we inherited from the previous Government, who would not give our warfighters the fighting advantage that they need—especially given the lessons learned from Ukraine. Later this month, we will stand up the Office for Small Business Growth, which will help to support more small businesses and procurement in defence. There will be advantages, given the number of small businesses around Bournemouth that have huge potential to contribute to our defence and national security.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his questions. He will have heard my first answer, which answers some of his questions, which said that the NMH decision will be made as part of the defence investment plan. That will be announced shortly, so I will not be able to give him an answer today. I continue those conversations with Leonardo, as indeed I have today. It is important that we continue having those constructive conversations because I understand the importance of Yeovil not only to his constituency, but to our wider defence ecosystem and, as a south-west MP, to the wider region as well. Leonardo is expert in not only building helicopters but servicing them, and I am excited about some of the work it is undertaking on autonomous helicopters, as well as its wider business interests across the UK, especially in electronics and other areas. I am happy to continue conversations with the hon. Member about this, as I will do with the company and with the trade unions representing the workforce.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and for the tone in which he asked it, and he is right to say that corporate decisions about where investment goes are important. That is one reason that we have continued dialogue with Leonardo, not just in the UK but also with its parent company in Italy, to ensure that it is kept abreast of our challenges with the DIP, and with the military need and procurement strategy. I am afraid I will not be able to give a date for the DIP. We are working flat out to get it, and it will be published shortly when ready.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman knows that we have found additional funding for defence; there is £5 billion extra in our defence budget this year. We have an increasing defence budget for every single year of the decade ahead. Let me challenge his point, as I did answer the questions to which he referred; I just was not able to give the answer that he wanted. The NMH decision will be made as part of the defence investment plan, which will be published shortly.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  I met the chief executive of Yeovil College briefly at the Great South West conference last year, and I understand its involvement and partnership with the private sector in that locality, including Leonardo, but not only that. I want to provide certainty for businesses, which is why I also want to ensure that the defence investment plan is got right. For far too long industry has had promises of funding when the equipment programme has been unfunded, and there has not been money to support those jobs or that certainty. We inherited a programme in which huge amounts were unfunded, so our objective is to ensure that all our defence programmes are sustainable. We must ensure that we are clearing up the mess. Industry must have full certainty that when something is in the programme, it will be funded, rather than the previous situation when industry saw the press releases and soundbites but not the cash. We are addressing that with the new defence investment plan.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to say that the defence industrial strategy is a key piece of the puzzle in building up our new armed forces. It was published last year— [ Interruption. ] The shadow Minister is asking where it is, but it is on the internet because it was published a number of months ago, so if he has not read it, he should have a read. My hon. Friend’s question about Rolls-Royce is important. We have given Rolls-Royce a £9 billion contract for new nuclear reactors to support the SSN-AUKUS work. That Unity contract is an important part that enables Rolls-Royce to invest in its infrastructure and, perhaps most importantly, in its skills base. I recently met Rolls-Royce, and I know it has plans to go even further with its product offer and employment opportunities, and I will continue to keep the House informed about those developments.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman comes from a background of knowledge in this respect. As part of the defence investment plan, the military have set out their needs, and they are being matched against the funding of the platforms that we have and the platforms that we want to purchase. As part of that, he will be aware of the SDR objective to move to greater autonomy in our platforms; indeed, a number of projects—including ones by Leonardo—are working to build that up. The new picture of crewed and autonomous platforms will be published as part of the defence investment plan.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question and the tone in which he asked it. I have a lot of time for him and his arguments. In fact, I think that “Shifting the goalposts?”, which talks about the rise and fall of defence spending, is one of the very best Defence Committee reports and it was issued when he was Chair of that Committee. I certainly recognise what the hon. Member for Yeovil said about timings. The contract in the procurement of the new medium helicopter included a period where the prices were guaranteed; we are keeping that in mind, because we want to make a decision and not to be timed out.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  We have been very clear in the defence industrial strategy and the strategic defence review that we want more of a rising defence budget to go to British companies. That is changing the way in which defence procures, and it is the right change that we need to see as we bring more strategic autonomy back to the UK and as we friendshore and onshore more capabilities in these more difficult times. I am afraid that I will not be able to give the hon. Gentleman the full details, because they will be set out in the defence investment plan, as he has heard from my previous answers.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to talk about small businesses and the wider supply chain. A large component part of the defence industrial strategy talks about those things as well; I am sure he has read that strategy, so he will be familiar with it. We want to see our suppliers in the UK expand. We also want to see more of them selling to the UK military; indeed, lots of our small companies sell to foreign militaries, but not yet to the UK military. We are launching the office for small business growth later this month. That will enable an easier route for UK SMEs to sell their products and services into the UK military—something that, time and again, they have said has been hard in the past. We are making it easier for the future.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) for this urgent question and thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to provide an update on the current status of the Ministry of Defence’s new medium helicopter procurement. Earlier this afternoon, I spoke with the CEO of Leonardo UK and the managing director of Leonardo Helicopters to continue our conversations around NMH exports and autonomous helicopters, and stressed that Leonardo remains an important strategic partner for the MOD. In fact, I had to leave that meeting early to get to this UQ. It is something that remains on my priority list. The NMH programme was first announced in March 2021 by the previous Government, with competition opening nearly three years later in February 2024. The Government will make a final decision on the award of the NMH contract through the wider defence investment plan. As the Defence Secretary has said in this House, we are working flat out to deliver the DIP, which will deliver the best kit and technology into the hands of our frontline forces and, importantly, will invest in and grow the UK economy. It will be published as soon as possible and is backed by the Government’s largest sustained increase in defence investment since the end of the cold war, spending £270 billion on defence in this Parliament alone.