Good morning.
It is my pleasure to be here today to welcome you to the Farnborough International Airshow.
This is a great moment for our country, our industries, and for us, the people behind them.
We are proud to provide you with a platform in which to celebrate, do business and meet like minded people.
At ADS and at Farnborough International, and indeed, in the UK, we know and recognise that it is people – and the connections between them – that support who we are, what we do, and ultimately, secure our future advantage, safety and sustainability for the next generation.
As we stand here in the birthplace of British Aviation , we are reminded that UK aerospace is at a critical juncture, having overcome the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic to return to the front runners of the global aerospace league tables. Our industry is resilient, buoyant even, with the current aircraft order backlog alone worth approximately £247bn to the UK economy.
That backlog grew 8% in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Our industries are buoyant, yes, but the demand is sofar outpacing that we are able to fulfil. So work to do.
Looking wider, ADS sectors are at the heart of UK advanced manufacturing and innovative digital services. Our true value extends beyond our economic footprint, underpinning UK society, families and our way of life.
Our industries’ value-add to the economy of the sectors has grown 50% in the last decade to £38.2 billion – a testament to their dynamism, innovation and ambition.
Providing 427,500 jobs throughout the UK – an increase of one third on 2013 figures – our industries deliver on UK prosperity and innovation, providing a hub for advanced manufacturing, and driving our decarbonization agenda.
More than that, they are delivering for people, their families and their communities all over the UK
And our message to you all, here today, is this.
UK industry is your partner.
We are your partner in enhancing the opportunity for every citizen in this nation to have a fulfilling, rewarding, and prosperous career – party to the 427,500 well paid jobs we provide throughout the country.
We are your partner in the pivotal technology agenda, race to decarbonisation, and indeed, the critical infrastructure required to enable these new innovations to succeed
But more than that, we are your partner in securing future advantage for many years to come.
We say this message as much to our international partners, our delegations, to ourselves, as much as we do to our new government.
His Majesty’s Government – in post just two weeks – have shown their clear commitment to the UK’s innovative, ambitious and world-renowned advanced manufacturing sectors with a record number of senior ministers here this week.
Whether that’s through participating in engagements with our closest allies in NATO, outlining sustained support to Ukraine, and a King’s Speech that contained several commitments to our sectors – including the Industrial Strategy Council upon which ADS has campaigned for many years and the Commitments to future sustainability through Sustainable Aviation
For that, and other commitments to securing the workforce of our sectors, it gives me great pleasure to welcome our Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP.
