Lib Dems Urge Government to Cancel £1B F-35 Deal, Demanding Shift to British-Made Typhoons

​The Liberal Democrats have launched a sharp critique of the Government’s defense procurement strategy, demanding the cancellation of a £1 billion contract for American F-35A fighter jets. Labeling the agreement a "Trump-appeasement purchase," the party is urging Ministers to redirect the funds to order 12 British-made Eurofighter Typhoon jets instead.
​The intervention marks exactly one year since the publication of the Strategic Defence Review, which committed the UK to purchasing the US aircraft. Since that decision, Liberal Democrat officials argue, global stability has fractured significantly under the actions of US President Donald Trump, making a heavy reliance on Washington a strategic liability.

​Party leadership pointed to a series of escalating actions by the White House,ranging from explicit threats against key NATO allies to the launching of an illegal war in Iran, as definitive proof that the United States can no longer be viewed as a predictable partner in transatlantic collective defense.
​Boosting British Industry and Sovereign Capability
​By shifting procurement to the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Liberal Democrats argue the UK can fortify its own defense sector. The UK manufactures more than double the volume of components for the Eurofighter program compared to the American F-35 pipeline.

​According to the party's analysis, a pivot to the Typhoon would achieve three critical goals:
​Secure high-skilled British engineering jobs and industrial expertise.
​Establish a genuinely sovereign military capability free from foreign vetoes.
​Save taxpayers up to £516 million, capital that could be immediately funneled back into the UK's overstretched defense budget.

While the Prime Minister initially justified the procurement by highlighting the aircraft's ability to carry tactical nuclear weapons, subsequent disclosures revealed that the UK would require explicit approval from the US President before deploying that capability.

​"Strategically Illiterate"
​Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson James MacCleary MP condemned the current arrangement, arguing that the Government is tying British security interests to an increasingly volatile administration.
​“Donald Trump is taking a sledgehammer to global security, insulting Britain and tearing up the rules-based international order." "Yet, rather than building the UK’s strategic independence from an unreliable White House, Keir Starmer has remained wedded to his eye-watering Trump-appeasement order of US jets.” James MacCleary MP 

The Liberal Democrats beluve that the Prime Minister's origial procurement decision was "staggeringly short-sighted," and subsequent geopolitical events have only exposed its flaws.

​“Even if the Prime Minister thought it was right to be expanding the UK's nuclear arsenal in this way, giving total control over the use of this capability to Donald Trump is strategically illiterate," “We cannot be increasing our reliance on US technology at a time when the President is tearing up the rules-based order and threatening our allies."
James MacCleary MP 

​The Liberal Democrats are calling for an immediate policy reversal to protect both national security and domestic employment.
​"Ministers need to wake up to reality, cancel this misguided F-35A order, and buy British instead," "By investing in Typhoons, we can support our own high-skilled industrial base, secure a genuinely sovereign military capability, and save over £500 million to reinvest elsewhere in our overstretched armed forces. The Government should put British security and British jobs first." James MacCleary MP 

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