The future of the defence industry in north west England is going to be a key issue over the next few months and years and its profile will be at the top of the political agenda in the north west in two weeks time. 

There are key defence questions to answer such as: Will it have enough funding from Government? Will it be classed as an oft quoted “front –line service”, receive additional funding or avoid funding cuts? How will we co-operate in future with our allies? How will the fixed wing military aircraft, land based equipment and shipbuilding skills be sustained in the long term?  How many nuclear powered submarines will be ordered? Will the Successor programme go ahead or will Vanguard class deterrent carrying submarines be refurbished? What new equipment will our troops receive? What measures will be taken to foster an indigenous defence industrial supply chain industry or will firms be urged instead to export to offset less UK defence ordering?

To try to get answers to these challenges and more, GMB and UNITE are organising a Defence Industry NW 2010 Conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Manchester Airport on 5^th March 2010. Friday has been chosen to ensure politicians can get there. A Minister from Ministry of Defence has agreed to attend and Manchester has been chosen because it is at the heart of the region.

Quentin Davies MP, the Ministry of Defence’s Minister for Defence Equipment and Support will join Conference delegates for the majority of the day-long event. He will give the keynote speech.

Other speakers include Bernie Hamilton and Dave Hulse from UNITE and GMB respectively. Dave Crausby MP, who is a member of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, NDI a northern defence industry trade body, and John Hudson of BAE Systems will also be speaking.

 The Conference will be of interest to defence companies, trade union officials, local and central government and the armed services.

The aim is to agree what the regions’ unions, industry and supporting public sector should do to ensure the industry prospers.

The Conference takes place against a background of a new Government of whatever colour being committed to a Strategic Defence Review (SDR) immediately after the next election. The SDR will set the role we want the United Kingdom to play in the world and how much the nation is prepared to pay for security and defence.

Defence is one of the most resilient elements of the region’s manufacturing industrial base. With Government reviewing defence policy and spending and alluding to the need for  “hard choices and important decisions”  we are delighted that the trade unions are taking this Conference forward  as a way of making sure the NW’s defence industrial base gets the recognition it deserves at the highest level.