Latest news with #SimonCase
Wales Online
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
Ex-Civil Service chief warns next 20 years will be 'dominated' by conflict between nations
Ex-Civil Service chief warns next 20 years will be 'dominated' by conflict between nations Sir Simon Case, who served as the head of the Civil Service for four different prime ministers, said the Government needed to announce a new means of launching Britain's nuclear deterrent Sir Simon Case (Image: PA Archive/PA Images ) The former head of the Civil Service, Sir Simon Case, who resigned as Cabinet secretary in December, has forecasted that the next two decades will be "dominated" by conflict between nations. In his first significant interview since stepping down, Sir Simon spoke to The Times, where he called on ministers to explore alternative methods for deploying Britain's nuclear deterrent, which is currently maintained on submarines that are on constant patrol. He suggested to the publication that land or jet-fired missiles could be options and recommended that such changes should be declared in the upcoming strategic defence review, a comprehensive assessment of the UK's defence capabilities. "In my view you wouldn't rely on a single system for anything. That's true in many walks of life, let alone nuclear deterrence," he told The Times. Having worked with four prime ministers as the Civil Service chief, Sir Simon described himself as a "pessimist" in light of escalating global unrest. "As I look out on my children's lives, the next 10 and probably 20 years is going to be dominated by this inter-state conflict," he remarked. Article continues below Sir Simon also stressed: "It feels to me that we across the Western alliance need to get our skates on and be ready." During an appearance on The Times' new podcast, The General & The Journalist, earlier this week, Sir Simon expressed that the UK should increase its defence spending to 3% as swiftly as possible. Sir Keir Starmer's Government has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5% of the UK's GDP by 2027, with a further commitment to raise it to 3% in the subsequent parliament. Article continues below The former civil servant retired at the end of last year due to a rare health condition. He held the position of Cabinet secretary under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer. Sir Simon also had high-ranking roles in the Civil Service under previous prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Conflict between countries will dominate near future, says ex-Civil Service chief
The next 20 years will be dominated by conflict between nations, the former head of the civil service has said. Simon Case, who stood down as cabinet secretary in December, made the warning in his first major interview since leaving the job. Speaking to the Times newspaper, he urged ministers to develop new means of launching Britain's nuclear deterrent, which is kept aboard constantly patrolling submarines. Land or jet-fired missiles should be considered, he said, in a move the government should announce as part of the coming strategic defence review, an overarching examination of the UK's defence capability. 'In my view you wouldn't rely on a single system for anything. That's true in many walks of life, let alone nuclear deterrence,' he told the paper. Case, the civil service chief under four prime ministers, described himself as a 'pessimist' amid the rising global turmoil. 'As I look out on my children's lives, the next 10 and probably 20 years is going to be dominated by this inter-state conflict,' he said. 'It feels to me that we across the western alliance need to get our skates on and be ready.' Speaking on a new podcast launched by the Times, titled The General and The Journalist, case this week said the UK should be hiking its defence spending to 3% as soon as possible. Keir Starmer's government has promised to raise defence spending to 2.5% of the UK's economic output by 2027, with a commitment to raise it further to 3% in the next parliament. Case retired because of a rare health condition at the end of 2024. He served as cabinet secretary under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Starmer, and also previously served in senior civil service roles under then-prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Simon Case calls for 3pc defence spending boost to stop China
Sir Simon Case has called for Britain to raise defence spending to 3pc of GDP to protect the country from 'quasi-imperial China'. The former Cabinet Secretary described Beijing as the 'pace-setting threat' that will dominate the next 20 years, in an interview with The Times. He also said that the UK's defence and security network has been worn down by 'under-investment for the last couple of decades' and 'a dangerous sense of complacency'. It comes after Sir Keir Starmer announced in February that he would raise the defence budget to 2.5pc of GDP by 2027. The Prime Minister also said that it was his ambition to hit 3pc spending in the next Parliament, but made no firm commitment to do so. Asked if 2.5pc spending was enough, Mr Case replied: 'probably not'. He added: 'I think 3pc is the right sort of ambition. If we were spending 3pc right now, we'd feel different. We'd feel more positive about the state of our Armed Forces, but only if we were spending it well. Mr Case, who helped to rewrite Britain's nuclear policy for Sir Tony Blair in 2006, said that he believed that China was the biggest threat to the nation. 'It's very tempting to get temporal in these moments, as we are currently supporting the Ukrainians in a conflict with the Russians,' he said, when asked about the greatest threat against Britain. 'The long-term issue for me though is China. It is a nation with enormous economic powers — scientific, technological, industrial. We see it spreading its intentions, influence and tentacles around the world. And they're making huge leaps forward in military technology and clearly have the intention to use it. 'And what you see is the sharing of technology with North Korea, Iran, and Russia … It's all going to be about China, whether directly or indirectly, how it's influencing others.' He added: 'I'm pretty sure in 30 or 40 years time, people will be writing PhDs about the rise of the modern Chinese empire.' Mr Case was appointed Cabinet Secretary by Boris Johnson in 2020 to help steer the country through the Covid crisis. He remained in place under Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir until he stepped down in September 2024. He had previously worked as principal private secretary to Lord Cameron and Baroness May during their premierships, before a two-year spell as private secretary to the Prince of Wales. He said he believed the next 10 to 20 years would be filled with interstate conflict. 'As ever, when you're trying to describe an enormous system, there are some bits that are in better shape than others,' he said. 'In general and for what we face, not in the round is probably the right assessment.' 'I'm sorry to say I'm a something of a pessimist on these questions. As I look out on my children's lives, the next 10 and probably 20 years is going to be dominated by this interstate conflict. 'It feels to me that we, across the Western alliance, need to get our skates on and be ready, certainly by 2030.'
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The ‘Bournville of weapons' powering Britain's rearmament
The town hall at the centre of Barrow-on-Furness is an extravagant piece of Gothic architecture, crowned by a 164ft clock tower that rings out on the hour, every hour. It was built in 1886 as a symbol of prosperity, when shipbuilding and steel making thrived in the Cumbrian port town. Today, however, the building is less a monument of success and serves more as a painful reminder of Barrow's prosperous past. The surrounding streets are plagued by boarded-up shops and broken windows, while a neighbouring multi-storey car park was closed last year because so few people were driving to the town centre. 'There are lots of places that have been derelict for years,' sighs Trevor Vincent, who works in a nearby charity shop. 'Everything is closing down – all we've got left are barbers, takeaways and vape shops.' Yet this isn't merely a familiar tale about a northern town once a champion of industry. In fact, Barrow is still home to the country's most important defence manufacturing site. Run by BAE Systems, the Devonshire Dock complex still employs one in three people in the town. This is where thousands of highly skilled workers operate, in the most secret of conditions, to build the huge submarines that provide the UK's ultimate security guarantee – the at-sea nuclear deterrent. Since the end of the Cold War, business has been painfully slow. But now, as Britain rearms, Barrow's skills are in demand again – and the yard is poised to be busier than ever. The pipeline of work should reinvigorate the town, in no small part because it will trigger a population surge. Over the next decade, as BAE's workforce grows, Barrow is expected to balloon in size from 60,000 people to 90,000, as workers and their families move to the area. That means new infrastructure will be needed, including bigger hospital facilities, more schools and thousands of new homes. But if BAE is to get the talent it needs, it will also require a transformation of the town's decaying urban centre so that people want to live there. Within Whitehall, the issue is so urgent that the Government has partnered with the local council and BAE to push the project forward. Known as 'Team Barrow', the scheme has been handed £200m in Treasury funding and is being led by Simon Case, the former Cabinet secretary. In scope, the proposed regeneration has drawn comparisons to Bournville, the model village built by the Cadbury family to house the workers at their chocolate factories. Case says Barrow is 'the living, breathing example' of what happened to some industrial towns after the government cut defence spending following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Barrow grew rapidly in the late 1800s after industrialist Henry Schneider found iron ore nearby and began shipping it out of the port. The town quickly transformed into the world's largest steelworks. Business remained strong through the industrial revolution, both World Wars and then the Cold War, as the Devonshire dockyard built dozens of Royal Navy vessels, including aircraft carriers, frigates, submarines and destroyers in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. But since the early 2000s, that workload has shrunk to just 11 submarines, including two Astute-class boats yet to be delivered. 'The town's fortune has gone up and down with the yard,' Case says. 'And so when the work for the yard dropped off, that is when worklessness and other problems started to grow.' Today, it is one of the most deprived areas in the country, scoring poorly on unemployment, education, child poverty and life expectancy when compared to the national average. The rate of economic inactivity in Barrow is 41.4pc, including 26.2pc of people who are retired. This is higher than average for both the UK and the North West. The most visible sign of this decline can be seen in the town's main shopping streets – once-bustling places now pockmarked with boarded-up store fronts. Like other 'Barrovians' that The Telegraph spoke to on Thursday, charity shop worker Vincent, who was accompanied by his 15-year-old daughter, said the most depressing aspect of the town's decline has been the feeling that there is nothing to do locally. In recent years, major retail brands, including WH Smith, have abandoned the town, while large units have been left vacant by the collapse of retail chains such as Wilko and Debenhams. 'I grew up here and I've never seen it this bad,' says Vincent, 46. Many people have stopped coming into Barrow to shop and instead go to nearby market towns such as Ulverston or Kendal, he says, with some even going as far afield as Lancaster. 'Who's going to come into a town where there's nothing to do?' asks former shipyard worker John Pringle, 71, walking with his friend Brian Beard, 75, to a nearby pub. But with the shipyard ramping up again, Case says regenerating Barrow has become a national and moral imperative. With tensions rising around the world, the Royal Navy has placed a £31bn order for four Dreadnought-class submarines, which will replace the nuclear-armed Vanguard boats, as well as a fleet of new Aukus-class attack submarines that will enter service from the late 2030s. To keep Britain secure, these need to be delivered on time and to cutting-edge specifications. 'Getting our boats out of Barrow is of profound importance to our nation's security,' Case says. 'With the pressure that we've got on getting the Astute boats finished, then Dreadnought and then Aukus, we started to focus on this two years ago for almost Bournville-like reasons. 'The town is a strategic national asset, although it hasn't always been viewed that way. 'Pretty quickly, we realised we needed Team Barrow to create an environment that would deliver that happy, skilled workforce we need to support the defence nuclear enterprise. 'Thanks to Mr Putin and Mr Xi, the business case makes itself.' This will involve a variety of measures, says Case, with Team Barrow aiming to use its money to 'catalyse' private investment or directly intervene where necessary. For example, the council is using government funding to clean up a large brownfield site near the dockyard. This will allow for a new 800-home waterfront development known as 'Marina Village'. It is part of efforts to kickstart building in the area, which has only delivered around 80 homes a year previously, but will soon need to start building up to 1000 annually. Another boost to the town has come from the University of Cumbria, which has built a new campus next to the BAE yard that will offer courses in engineering, project management, computer science and nursing. 'Barrow is about to become a university town,' says Case. 'That's never been said about Barrow before – and it is a sign of the ambition we have here.' Back in the town centre, BAE is also literally setting up shop. In a bid to draw attention to the regeneration plans, it has bought units formerly used by WH Smith and Debenhams and converted the former into a modern exhibition centre called 'the Bridge'. Here, people can learn about opportunities in the area, and not only those at the yard. There are even grander plans for the former Debenhams department store next door, which the company wants to transform into a high-tech training centre. It will provide a space for workers to learn complex welding techniques or other technical aspects of submarines, using large-scale models. Crucially, however, the building's designs do not include a canteen – meaning the 600 or so people who go there every day will have to venture outside for lunch. 'We're hoping that the captive audience of people will really drive economic activity into the town centre once again,' explains Catherine Reay, a project manager at BAE who will eventually run the new training centre. A broader masterplan for the town centre is also being drawn up, with policymakers considering creating a local development company that will have the power to oversee major changes. The plans are also likely to include rejuvenating some of the most battered buildings to make them fit for new tenants. Though it is still early days, Case points to 'green shoots', including the opening of a new coffee shop, Coffee D'Ash, in the Portland Walk arcade, as well as a new branch of the Furness Building Society. Ash Holroyd, 33, says he bet on the town's future by opening his cafe in September last year, having previously run a coffee van in the town's market. 'We need businesses to support the town,' he says. 'I hope this will spur people to come and socialise again.' While chatting, customers of all ages come and go and Holroyd greets most by name. Case argues that this is the sort of family-friendly venue that Barrow needs more of to help attract high-skilled workers, some of whom currently choose to live in nearby towns and commute in. 'For families transferring in from somewhere else in the country, of course, they'll have the option of living in some absolutely beautiful towns and villages nearby,' Case says. 'But we want Barrow to be an attractive, viable option for them as well.' In the long term, Case hopes the town can diversify its economy, potentially by securing green energy jobs from the construction of new wind farms in the Irish Sea. Barrow does have several things going for it already, including an active local art scene, close proximity to the Lake District, beaches and major bird-watching spots such as Walney Island. There are also hopes that a revamp of the local theatre, the Forum, and other initiatives will help bring in more visitors. BAE apprentice Abbie Cocker, 21, who is training to be a project manager, says having access to the national park has changed her life. 'A lot of people who come from further away haven't experienced the Lake District, but it started my love of walking,' she says. 'I'd never move back home now.' For Case, the regeneration of Barrow is a chance to make sure that future activity at BAE's yards can benefit the whole town. 'If you go back to the Bournville example, that tells you of a time when prosperous towns had these partnerships between government and industry, and they produced magnificent structures like the town hall. 'We are now getting investors who are starting to say, 'Hey, this looks like a town with a future. How can we get involved?'' With enough willpower, it's a future that could restore Barrow to its former glory. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
30-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The ‘Bournville of weapons' powering Britain's rearmament
The town hall at the centre of Barrow-on-Furness is an extravagant piece of Gothic architecture, crowned by a 164ft clock tower that rings out on the hour, every hour. It was built in 1886 as a symbol of prosperity, when shipbuilding and steel making thrived in the Cumbrian port town. Today, however, the building is less a monument of success and serves more as a painful reminder of Barrow's prosperous past. The surrounding streets are plagued by boarded-up shops and broken windows, while a neighbouring multi-storey car park was closed last year because so few people were driving to the town centre. 'There are lots of places that have been derelict for years,' sighs Trevor Vincent, who works in a nearby charity shop. 'Everything is closing down – all we've got left are barbers, takeaways and vape shops.' Yet this isn't merely a familiar tale about a northern town once a champion of industry. In fact, Barrow is still home to the country's most important defence manufacturing site. Run by BAE Systems, the Devonshire Dock complex still employs one in three people in the town. This is where thousands of highly skilled workers operate, in the most secret of conditions, to build the huge submarines that provide the UK's ultimate security guarantee – the at-sea nuclear deterrent. 'Team Barrow' Since the end of the Cold War, business has been painfully slow. But now, as Britain rearms, Barrow's skills are in demand again – and the yard is poised to be busier than ever. The pipeline of work should reinvigorate the town, in no small part because it will trigger a population surge. Over the next decade, as BAE's workforce grows, Barrow is expected to balloon in size from 60,000 people to 90,000, as workers and their families move to the area. That means new infrastructure will be needed, including bigger hospital facilities, more schools and thousands of new homes. But if BAE is to get the talent it needs, it will also require a transformation of the town's decaying urban centre so that people want to live there. Within Whitehall, the issue is so urgent that the Government has partnered with the local council and BAE to push the project forward. Known as 'Team Barrow', the scheme has been handed £200m in Treasury funding and is being led by Simon Case, the former Cabinet secretary. In scope, the proposed regeneration has drawn comparisons to Bournville, the model village built by the Cadbury family to house the workers at their chocolate factories. Case says Barrow is 'the living, breathing example' of what happened to some industrial towns after the government cut defence spending following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Barrow grew rapidly in the late 1800s after industrialist Henry Schneider found iron ore nearby and began shipping it out of the port. The town quickly transformed into the world's largest steelworks. Business remained strong through the industrial revolution, both World Wars and then the Cold War, as the Devonshire dockyard built dozens of Royal Navy vessels, including aircraft carriers, frigates, submarines and destroyers in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. But since the early 2000s, that workload has shrunk to just 11 submarines, including two Astute-class boats yet to be delivered. 'The town's fortune has gone up and down with the yard,' Case says. 'And so when the work for the yard dropped off, that is when worklessness and other problems started to grow.' Signs of decline Today, it is one of the most deprived areas in the country, scoring poorly on unemployment, education, child poverty and life expectancy when compared to the national average. The rate of economic inactivity in Barrow is 41.4pc, including 26.2pc of people who are retired. This is higher than average for both the UK and the North West. The most visible sign of this decline can be seen in the town's main shopping streets – once-bustling places now pockmarked with boarded-up store fronts. Like other 'Barrovians' that The Telegraph spoke to on Thursday, charity shop worker Vincent, who was accompanied by his 15-year-old daughter, said the most depressing aspect of the town's decline has been the feeling that there is nothing to do locally. In recent years, major retail brands, including WH Smith, have abandoned the town, while large units have been left vacant by the collapse of retail chains such as Wilko and Debenhams. 'I grew up here and I've never seen it this bad,' says Vincent, 46. Many people have stopped coming into Barrow to shop and instead go to nearby market towns such as Ulverston or Kendal, he says, with some even going as far afield as Lancaster. 'Who's going to come into a town where there's nothing to do?' asks former shipyard worker John Pringle, 71, walking with his friend Brian Beard, 75, to a nearby pub. A national asset But with the shipyard ramping up again, Case says regenerating Barrow has become a national and moral imperative. With tensions rising around the world, the Royal Navy has placed a £31bn order for four Dreadnought-class submarines, which will replace the nuclear-armed Vanguard boats, as well as a fleet of new Aukus-class attack submarines that will enter service from the late 2030s. To keep Britain secure, these need to be delivered on time and to cutting-edge specifications. 'Getting our boats out of Barrow is of profound importance to our nation's security,' Case says. 'With the pressure that we've got on getting the Astute boats finished, then Dreadnought and then Aukus, we started to focus on this two years ago for almost Bournville-like reasons. 'The town is a strategic national asset, although it hasn't always been viewed that way. 'Pretty quickly, we realised we needed Team Barrow to create an environment that would deliver that happy, skilled workforce we need to support the defence nuclear enterprise. 'Thanks to Mr Putin and Mr Xi, the business case makes itself.' This will involve a variety of measures, says Case, with Team Barrow aiming to use its money to 'catalyse' private investment or directly intervene where necessary. For example, the council is using government funding to clean up a large brownfield site near the dockyard. This will allow for a new 800-home waterfront development known as 'Marina Village'. It is part of efforts to kickstart building in the area, which has only delivered around 80 homes a year previously, but will soon need to start building up to 1000 annually. Another boost to the town has come from the University of Cumbria, which has built a new campus next to the BAE yard that will offer courses in engineering, project management, computer science and nursing. 'Barrow is about to become a university town,' says Case. 'That's never been said about Barrow before – and it is a sign of the ambition we have here.' Grand plans Back in the town centre, BAE is also literally setting up shop. In a bid to draw attention to the regeneration plans, it has bought units formerly used by WH Smith and Debenhams and converted the former into a modern exhibition centre called 'the Bridge'. Here, people can learn about opportunities in the area, and not only those at the yard. There are even grander plans for the former Debenhams department store next door, which the company wants to transform into a high-tech training centre. It will provide a space for workers to learn complex welding techniques or other technical aspects of submarines, using large-scale models. Crucially, however, the building's designs do not include a canteen – meaning the 600 or so people who go there every day will have to venture outside for lunch. 'We're hoping that the captive audience of people will really drive economic activity into the town centre once again,' explains Catherine Reay, a project manager at BAE who will eventually run the new training centre. A broader masterplan for the town centre is also being drawn up, with policymakers considering creating a local development company that will have the power to oversee major changes. The plans are also likely to include rejuvenating some of the most battered buildings to make them fit for new tenants. Green shoots Though it is still early days, Case points to 'green shoots', including the opening of a new coffee shop, Coffee D'Ash, in the Portland Walk arcade, as well as a new branch of the Furness Building Society. Ash Holroyd, 33, says he bet on the town's future by opening his cafe in September last year, having previously run a coffee van in the town's market. 'We need businesses to support the town,' he says. 'I hope this will spur people to come and socialise again.' While chatting, customers of all ages come and go and Holroyd greets most by name. Case argues that this is the sort of family-friendly venue that Barrow needs more of to help attract high-skilled workers, some of whom currently choose to live in nearby towns and commute in. 'For families transferring in from somewhere else in the country, of course, they'll have the option of living in some absolutely beautiful towns and villages nearby,' Case says. 'But we want Barrow to be an attractive, viable option for them as well.' In the long term, Case hopes the town can diversify its economy, potentially by securing green energy jobs from the construction of new wind farms in the Irish Sea. Barrow does have several things going for it already, including an active local art scene, close proximity to the Lake District, beaches and major bird-watching spots such as Walney Island. There are also hopes that a revamp of the local theatre, the Forum, and other initiatives will help bring in more visitors. BAE apprentice Abbie Cocker, 21, who is training to be a project manager, says having access to the national park has changed her life. 'A lot of people who come from further away haven't experienced the Lake District, but it started my love of walking,' she says. 'I'd never move back home now.' 'If you go back to the Bournville example, that tells you of a time when prosperous towns had these partnerships between government and industry, and they produced magnificent structures like the town hall. 'We are now getting investors who are starting to say, 'Hey, this looks like a town with a future. How can we get involved?'' With enough willpower, it's a future that could restore Barrow to its former glory.
