Keir Starmer vows to guard UK’s nuclear deterrent in defence ‘triple lock’ vow

Keir Starmer will give a cast-iron guarantee to secure the UK’s nuclear deterrent as he pitches Labour as the “party of national security”.

As Britain prepares to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, the Labour leader will commit to a nuclear deterrent “triple lock”. This includes the construction of four new nuclear subs in Barrow-in-Furness, maintaining the existing fleet patrolling the waters “24 hours a day, 365 days a year”, and the delivery of all future upgrades needed.

The Vanguard-class submarines are due to be replaced by the bigger Dreadnought-class submarines in the 2030s – costing between £31billion and £41billion. Mr Starmer will also stick by his promise to hike defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. It comes just weeks after Rishi Sunak desperately attempted to paint Mr Starmer as a risk to national security who would leave the country less safe.

But in a speech on Monday, the Labour leader will say: “National security will always come first in the changed Labour Party I lead. Keeping our country safe is the bedrock of stability that the British people rightly expect from their government. My message to them is clear: Labour has changed. No longer the party of protest, Labour is the Party of national security. ”

He will add: “In the face of increasing threats to national security, actions will speak louder than words. That’s why, alongside our unshakeable commitment to NATO, an incoming Labour government will introduce a ‘triple lock’ commitment on our nuclear deterrent – providing vital protection for the UK and our NATO allies in the years ahead, as well as supporting thousands of high paying jobs across the UK.”

The Labour leader is expected to appear among some of the 14 ex-military personnel the party has selected to stand as parliamentary candidates next month. They include Al Carns in Birmingham Selly Oak who has served in the military for 24 years and was until last week a Colonel in the Royal Marines. Army veteran Louise Jones will also stand for Labour in North East Derbyshire.

Speaking alongside Mr Starmer on Monday, the Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey, who will accuse the Tories of failing on defence and cutting the Army “to its smallest size since Napoleon”. He will add: “Britain will be better defended with Labour. In Government, the UK’s nuclear deterrent will be the bedrock of Labour’s defence plans to keep Britain safe and grow our economy.”

Over the weekend polls showed the Tories failing to narrow the gap with Labour after the first full week of the election campaign. A survey by pollsters Savanta also found Mr Starmer had his biggest lead ever over Mr Sunak on who would be the best PM – by 44% to 30%.

Over Sunday Mr Starmer and his top team also committed to slash levels of migration saying last year’s net migration figure of 685,000 has “got to come down”. But the Labour leader and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper declined to put a target on the vow. Ms Cooper told the BBC : “We’re not setting a target and the reason for that is partly because, to be honest, every time the Conservatives have done this, frankly, then they have just ended up being totally all over the place, ripping it up and discrediting the whole system.”