The fortunes of the port town of Barrow-in-Furness have long been linked to the British defence industry. Generations of families have spent their entire working lives at “the yard”, where Britain’s nuclear submarines are built.
Today, two-thirds of the town’s workforce is employed by BAE Systems PLC, which operates the shipyard, with the vast Devonshire Dock Hall dominating the local skyline.
When it comes to elections, “Barrow is one of the few seats in the country that can be decisively influenced by a single national issue,” said John Woodcock, who was the Labour MP for Barrow-in-Furness until 2015. “It’s always about shipyard jobs.”
