United Kingdom
UK engine room needs strategic investment to drive recovery - Tom Lawton
For many years, the importance of manufacturing to the UK economy has been denied. Manufacturers have battled admirably to cope with the onslaught of competition from low cost economies and the neglect of successive governments.
At last, the Government and leading opposition parties have woken up to the fact that our economy cannot be based on services alone. Manufacturing is not yet a spent force and we believe it could take a higher share than its current 13.5% GDP. Indeed, recently Gordon Brown told the Global Investment Conference that he is committed to investing ‘now for the long-term’.
UK manufacturing has come to be characterised by three core values: diversity, agility and innovation. We call on the leading political parties to help manufacturing to flourish in the future by:
- Setting out a clear plan for manufacturing to represent 17.5% of GDP within five years;
- Using nationalised banks to better support the sector through more enlightened risk sharing;
- Providing tax and incentives to enable UK manufacturing to stay at the cutting edge of research innovation.
In my view, manufacturing has been battered and bruised and, as today’s positive indicators from the EEF/BDO survey show, I believe it can still fight back and aid economic recovery, but only if future Governments make it a priority rather than an afterthought.
To help raise the profile the sector, BDO are delighted to support "manufacturing week" established by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, which is an opportunity to acclaim manufacturing in the UK.