Leonardo has warned it could close down its Somerset operations
Daniel Mumby and Local Democracy Reporter
10:21, 13 Jan 2026
Yeovil's MP has urged the government to urgently award a new helicopter contract after Leonardo warned it could close down its Somerset operations.
Leonardo has been the sole bidder for more than a year for a £1bn contract to deliver the Ministry of Defence (MoD)'s new medium helicopter programme – but no final decision on the contract has yet been made.
Adam Dance, the Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil, raised an urgent question on the matter in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon (January 12), urging the government to award the contract as soon as possible to protect more than 3,300 jobs in his constituency.
The government said it valued Leonardo as a defence partner but that no announcement about the contract would be made until the defence investment plan (DIP) had been published – a plan which has been repeatedly delayed.
This comes after The Times reported on Saturday (January 10) that Leonardo had given the government an ultimatum: to award the contract by March, or it would close down its Yeovil site for good.
Mr Dance (who has represented the constituency since July 2024) asked the government to address "delays to the awarding of the new medium helicopter contract and the potential closure of Leonardo helicopter site in Yeovil".
Luke Pollard MP, the minister for defence readiness and industry, said he had spoken with Leonardo representatives about the contract mere minutes before his presence was required in the House of Commons.
Mr Pollard (whose Plymouth Sutton and Devonport constituency includes one of the south west's main naval bases) said: "Earlier this afternoon [January 12], I spoke with the CEO of Leonardo UK and the managing director of Leonardo Helicopters to continue our conversations around new medium helicopter exports and autonomous helicopters, and stressed that Leonardo remains an important strategic partner for the MoD.
"The government will make a final decision on the award of the contract through the wider defence investment plan (DIP).
"As the defence secretary [John Healey MP] has said in this House, we are working flat out to deliver the DIP, which will deliver the best kit and technology into the hands of our front-line forces and, importantly, will invest in and grow the UK economy.
"It will be published as soon as possible and is backed by the government's largest sustained increase in defence investment since the end of the cold war, spending £270bn on defence in this parliament alone."
Mr Dance pressed Mr Pollard for a quicker decision, arguing that the current bid "will not be sustainable past March" and that further delays could jeopardise not only jobs in Somerset but the UK's wider national security.
He said: "If this contract is not awarded by March, we will lose over 3,000 manufacturing jobs in Yeovil, support for over 12,000 jobs in the regional supply chain and the £320m that Leonardo contributes to local GDP.
"We would also lose our country's ability to produce our own helicopters end to end here in the UK at a time of serious global tensions and insecurity.
"Will the minister please reassure us that the government plans to go ahead with this contract and that the delays do not mean that the funding for the contract is not available?
"Can the minister commit today to protect the future of the site in Yeovil? Will he state that the new medium helicopter programme is vital to our national defence?"
Mr Pollard reiterated that "constructive conversations" with Leonardo were still taking place regarding the contract and that no decision would be made public until the DIP had been completed.
He added: "I understand the importance of Yeovil not only to his [Mr Dance's] constituency, but to our wider defence ecosystem and, as a south-west MP, to the wider region as well.
"Leonardo is expert in not only building helicopters but servicing them, and I am excited about some of the work it is undertaking on autonomous helicopters, as well as its wider business interests across the UK, especially in electronics and other areas.
"I am happy to continue conversations with the honourable member about this, as I will do with the company and with the trade unions representing the workforce."
The Times reported on Saturday (January 10) that Leonardo chief executive Roberto Cingolani had warned investors in November 2025 that "we cannot subsidise Yeovil for ever".
He added at the time: "It is 14 years that we haven't had any contract from the UK government.
"It's getting difficult for us to keep this big plant alive without institutional collaboration.
"Should this not happen, well, we should seriously consider why we keep a plant there."
Sarah Dyke, the Lib Dem MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, joined her counterpart in urging the government to speed up its decision-making on the contract.
She said: "Alan from Keinton Mandeville, a Leonardo employee, recently wrote to me to stress how securing the new medium helicopter contract would protect jobs, support growth, and maintain the UK's sovereign capability in military aviation at a time of growing global instability.
"In addition, as the Minister will know, Leonardo supports Yeovil College in developing apprenticeships to the tune of over £1m a year, and many of those apprentices live in my constituency.
"Does the minister recognise the impact of his department's delay in compromising not just regional development but national protection?"
Mr Pollard responded: "I met the chief executive of Yeovil College briefly at the Great South West conference last year, and I understand its involvement and partnership with the private sector in that locality, including Leonardo, but not only that.
"I want to provide certainty for businesses, which is why I also want to ensure that the defence investment plan is got right.
"For far too long industry has had promises of funding when the equipment programme has been unfunded, and there has not been money to support those jobs or that certainty.
"We inherited a programme in which huge amounts were unfunded, so our objective is to ensure that all our defence programmes are sustainable. We must ensure that we are clearing up the mess."
Speaking after the debate, Mr Dance said: "For more than a year, Labour ministers have been telling me a decision on the new medium helicopter contract is coming soon.
"Today, once again, Yeovil was told to wait. That is simply not acceptable.
"This delay now puts thousands of skilled jobs at risk and threatens a proud engineering heritage that has been part of Yeovil for generations. People here deserve certainty, not more broken promises.
"I welcome the minister's willingness to meet again and his engagement with Leonardo's leadership, but the government must now act.
"I will keep pressing until this contract is awarded and jobs, skills and our national defence capability in Yeovil are properly protected."