Contribution
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) for securing this debate celebrating an institute so deeply connected to my city of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth has a proud history with the Royal Navy submarine service. Just across the water, HMS Dolphin served as its home and headquarters from 1904 to 1999, training generations of submariners. I encourage all Members to visit the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, where they can see Holland 1, the Navy’s first submarine, and walk through HMS Alliance to experience the extraordinary conditions in which submariners served during the second world war. The real gem is the moving and brilliant 15 oral life histories from submariners and their families, including words from Victor Crosby, a Pompey submariner who survived the sinking of HMS Saracen off of Corsica in August 1943. Sadly, Victor was captured by the Italians, but he escaped during the chaos following Italy’s surrender. He was hiding out with an Italian family, hoping to reached allied lines, but was tragically betrayed and shot by German military police. His grave remained unnamed for 75 years until historians established his identity. It is a remarkable story of sacrifice and a Portsmouth family loss.
The submarine service is not simply a part of history; it remains vital to our security today. For 125 years, the men and women of the silent service have protected our nation, often unseen, unrecognised and unthanked. From disrupting enemy shipping in two world wars and gathering intelligence in the cold war to delivering our continuous at-sea deterrent today, submariners have played an extraordinary role in keeping Britain safe. Every day beneath the waves they undertake demanding and often dangerous missions, spending long periods away from their families and children—some of whom I have taught in my city of Portsmouth—while knowing that much of their service will never be publicly recognised.
We should also recognise the fantastic work of charities and organisations such as the Submarine Family and We Remember Submariners, alongside wider Navy charity networks such as Aggie Weston’s and the Naval Children’s Charity. They provide vital practical, emotional and financial support to serving and former submariners and their families, including those facing hardship, bereavement and mental health challenges. Our responsibility to submariners does not end when they leave the submarine or hang up their uniform; we must stand by them and their families throughout their lives. I look forward to Portsmouth’s Op Valour centre playing its part in continuing that support. We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.
The service’s contribution extends far beyond those at sea. Submarine construction and maintenance supports thousands of highly skilled jobs, sustains communities and protects vital sovereign industrial capabilities. I particularly welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to a new apprenticeship scheme for the Dreadnought programme. It is an important investment in Britain’s future skills and defence industry, but we should remember that Portsmouth was once a proud centre of submarine construction. A generation of skilled workers helped to build the fleet that protected our nation. That shipbuilding capability was lost, and Portsmouth’s historic role in naval shipbuilding was further diminished under the Conservative Government. For a city whose identity is so closely bound to the Royal Navy, that loss is still felt very deeply. As we invest in the next generation of submariners, I want to see Portsmouth’s naval heritage recognised and opportunities created for our city to play a greater role in Britain’s future defence industry.
Behind every submarine’s capability is people. We must ensure that this country looks after those who put their lives on the line to protect it. I welcome the Government’s over 14% pay raise for the armed forces, and I welcome investment in service accommodation and practical improvements to service life. However, there is more to do. The Minister will know that I have long campaigned for better paternity leave for our serving fathers. I want to see longer, better paid leave, alongside reform of how parental and compassionate leave are administered.
I have heard from service fathers that access to leave can vary considerably, with some reluctant to ask for support that they are entitled to because decisions rest with their commanding officer and they fear the consequences for their career. Operational requirements must of course come first, but I believe that an independent human resources body could help to make these decisions more consistently and fairly while protecting our operational effectiveness. I am pleased that the Minister for Veterans and People has agreed to meet me to discuss these issues, and I look forward to working with him to make progress.
As we mark 125 years of the Royal Navy submarine service, we should celebrate not just the vessels, the technology and the operations, but above all the people: the submariners, past and present, and the families who support them. The silent service may operate beneath the waves and away from public view, but its contribution to our country speaks volumes. For more than a century, submariners have served in the shadows so that the rest of us can live in safety and freedom. To every submariner, past and present, I offer my deepest gratitude, and to those currently out on deployment, I say, “Fair winds and following seas.”