'It was Lancashire versus the world - and Lancashire won': Sir Keir Starmer praises workers for aircraft deal - video Dailymotion

Lancashire Post

The Prime Minister visited the county to tell staff at BAE Systems in Warton and its sister plant in Samlesbury that it was their own skill that helped him secure their jobs for the next decade thanks to an order for Typhoon jets from Turkey. Afterwards, he spoke to local democracy reporter Paul Faulkner.

Transcript

00:00Prime Minister, obviously the announcement of so many orders of these typhoon jets by Turkey.

00:06It's great news for the people who work here at BAE Systems and in the wider supply chain.

00:11What do you think it means to Lancashire more broadly?

00:13What would you say to somebody sitting in Blackpool and Preston,

00:16maybe struggling with the cost of living, who looks at this and thinks,

00:18well, that's great, but it's not my world?

00:20Well, look, this is really good for Lancashire.

00:22We signed a massive agreement with Turkey yesterday for 20 typhoons,

00:26and they're going to be made here and across the northwest.

00:30And that's 6,000 jobs, and it's 10 years' worth of jobs.

00:36And I came from Turkey to Wharton here to see the workforce, to say to them,

00:41thank you for helping me win this order because we're up against global competition here.

00:47We're judged to world-class standards, and the workforce here helped me win that contract.

00:52More broadly, this means, because it's 10 years' worth of well-paid jobs,

00:57the local economy can thrive.

00:58I've been talking to some of the supply companies, for example,

01:01from across Lancashire who are feeding into what's happening here.

01:04So this is the sort of thing that can generate more work and boost the economy across Lancashire.

01:09There's more we've got to do, I completely understand that,

01:12but the more we can get this money into Lancashire

01:16and get the local economy working in this way, the better it is for all.

01:19So, Jack, how long have you been an apprentice here at BAE?

01:23So I'm currently in my fourth year, and I joined in 2022.

01:27How are you finding it so far, then? You've been here a good few years now.

01:30Yeah, it's great. I've settled in nicely.

01:32So much opportunity. I've enjoyed every minute of it, and it's great.

01:36What's it like in terms of working with machinery like this,

01:39which is what it is, day in, day out?

01:41I think it's great, especially when you see locals, children,

01:44look at a plane and think, wow, when I get to do that every day, it's just amazing.

01:49Was it something you always dreamt of as a challenge yourself and ambition you had?

01:52It's sort of, I've always loved planes, and I never really knew about this until recently.

01:56So I just thought, why not apply, and here I am working on them.

02:00What's it like working on the typhoon, day in, day out?

02:03It doesn't get old. It is a bit uncomfortable inside the aircraft, but it's amazing.

02:08Announcements like the one that we've had yesterday about the order of so many of these typhoons by Turkey,

02:12it must mean a lot to people like you who work in a factory like BAE.

02:15Oh yeah, it would be great. Amazing chance to see all these hangers in the factories with life again.

02:21The bay's filled up with new aircraft. It would definitely be a nice surprise.

02:26Before announcements like this, is there a worry that you know where's the next job coming from,

02:30and that worry now being lifted?

02:32As much as we always have that worry, it was more we might get moved around somewhere,

02:36maybe to an RAF base. We might get relocated temporarily.

02:39But now we've got job security here locally, in the local area, with our families around locally.

'It was Lancashire versus the world - and Lancashire won': Sir Keir Starmer praises workers for aircraft deal

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