Sarah McCarthy-Fry and Prime Minister Gordon Brown today heard first-hand from two young BVT Surface Fleet workers the real difference Labour policies are making.

Craig Fenwick and James Joyce, who both work for BVT Surface Fleet in Portsmouth, met with the Prime Minister at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton and spoke about how Labour's apprenticeship programme and the government's investment in the defence industry had made a real difference.

Labour has rescued apprenticeships from collapse under the Conservatives, and rebuilt them so they are well on their way to taking their rightful place as a mainstream training option for young people.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry Labour MP for Portsmouth North said: “I was so impressed with these two young men - they are a real credit to the apprenticeship programme. They are working in shipbuilding in Portsmouth naval base, where this Labour government has committed work for years to come. But this would be under threat from a Tory government. George Osborne has already indicated he has the carrier programme in his sights and he opposes our investment in young people like Craig and James."