TRIDENT renewal campaigners received a boost after the secretary of defence pledged support for the programme.

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Michael Fallon showed explicit interest in the future of Barrow as he got to grips with the town’s plans for economic success.

The defence secretary’s interest was piqued at the Conservative Party Conference as a team of campaigners presented the future of the submarine building industry.

It comes amid the uncertainty of Labour’s position on Trident after leader Jeremy Corbyn last week said he would never press the button to launch a strike if he was prime minister.

Kofac – the Keep Our Future Afloat Campaign – headed to the conference to highlight the importance of the Successor programme on a national and local scale.

The team, headed by Stuart Klosinski, laid bare the potential of the project and how it could help transform the economy of south Cumbria and the whole of Britain.

Mr Klosinski said: “When he was speaking to us Mr Fallon was very positive about Successor and reflected what he said earlier in the day about the importance of having four boats.”

He added: “To have the secretary of state for defence seek us out on the first day of the conference has got to be a huge vote of confidence.

“It’s good that he spent a long time with us and we’ve now got more confidence that Mr Fallon and his ministers are behind the project.”

A spokesman from the Ministry of Defence has since said: “We are committed to maintaining a minimum continuous at-sea deterrent in order to deter the most extreme threats that the UK and its vital interests might face and we are proceeding with the work to replace our existing Vanguard-class submarines.

“The nuclear deterrent is the ultimate guarantor of our nation’s security and no alternative would be as effective at deterring threats now or in the future.”

The Kofac team highlighted the huge impact the Successor project would have to the local and national economy as it boasts a supply chain of more than 1,000 businesses in 421 towns and cities in the UK.

Mr Klosinski said: “We showed him our new research that shows that 421 towns and cities across Britain and well over 1,000 companies will be involved in the supply chain of the Successor and he seemed very impressed with that.”

Mr Fallon also spoke of his admiration for Barrow’s shipyard and how impressed he was when he visited Artful and BAE Systems’ site earlier this year.

After spending 15 minutes with the defence secretary, Mr Klosinski feels that the research carried out by Kofac has put a little bit of pressure on leading politicians to recognise the scope of the project.

He said: “I think the readiness of the supply chain has highlighted the impact of the project and shown that the government needs to look ahead to next year and the main gate decision.”

With the suggested support of the defence secretary, Mr Klosinski is feeling buoyant about the town’s future and hopes that his vital research will help politicians see the universal benefits of the project.

He said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of national strategic endeavour which will bring more economic benefits than other major projects such as HS2.”