A FRESH election row has erupted over Barrow's shipyard after the Conservatives claimed Furness could not 'risk' a Labour government.

Conservative candidate Simon Fell has attacked Labour over its defence commitments, claiming the party would take the country back to 'square one'.

The comments came shortly after Labour released its manifesto, claiming its comment to defence and maintaining the nuclear deterrent was 'absolute'.

Mr Fell said the Tory manifesto 'recognises the value of defence – both to our national security but also the communities responsible for producing the tools that keep our nation safe'.

He added: "Our bold action will see defence spending increase to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, making the UK the largest defence power in Europe, delivering the support our Armed Forces so rightfully deserve, and continuing our unwavering long-term support to Ukraine.

“The Conservatives have backed Astute, Dreadnought and AUKUS, and are investing in the future of this community with Team Barrow.

"I was very proud to secure £220million recently for the community as a result of this project I’ve led.

"The alternative is Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour – which twice tried to put Jeremy Corbyn into power, scrapping Trident, and pulling us out of NATO.

"Even now Labour have made no commitment to the Team Barrow funding, and senior figures continue to question Trident and AUKUS. Our country cannot take this risk, and Furness cannot take this risk either.”

Spelling out their policies on defence, Labour said: "Our commitment to the UK’s nuclear deterrent is absolute. It is a vital safeguard for the UK and our NATO allies. As the party that founded NATO, we maintain our unshakeable commitment to the alliance, and we will apply a NATO test to major defence programmes to ensure we meet our obligations in full.

"In recent years, threats to our safety and security have multiplied and diversified. Alongside greater conventional threats, we are faced with the growing emergence of hybrid warfare, including cyber-attacks and misinformation campaigns which seek to subvert our democracy. To ensure the UK is fully prepared to deal with these interconnected threats, Labour will conduct a Strategic Defence Review within our first year in government, and we will set out the path to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence."

Barrow and Furness Labour candidate Michelle Scrogham said Barrow's shipyard is 'safe with Labour'.

Also standing for election on July 4 is Barry Morgan for Reform UK, Lisa Morgan for the Party Of Women, Adrian Waite for the Liberal Democrats and Lorraine Wrennall for the Green Party.