Our headline story for June 2001.
Government support needed for UK manufacturing
Without wishing to sound too downbeat, the last few years have not
been the greatest for British manufacturers. Personally I would suggest that
there seem to have been as many if not more business closures in our industry
than at any other time during the last decade.
This Government, and in the
interest of balance, the Government before it, seem to think that the
disappearance of UK manufacturing is an inevitability. Most smaller engineering
companies have survived despite of rather than because of Government
support.
Whilst the large Aerospace companies seem to get large and regular
injections of tax payers cash, the small companies who employ more people
collectively are ignored and left to fend for themselves.
The best way
to make British enginnering more productive and competitive is through
investment in modern technology & machinery. We now compete in a global
market with countries where labour costs, overheads etc. are much lower and tax
breaks are better. The cost led nature of product procurement has seen
increasing amount of domestic business being sent abroad on the back of
fantastic promises on delivery and price.
Sticking my neck out, I would
suggest that the majority of British manufactures are as good, if not better,
than their foreign counterparts and largely competitive on deliveries and
certainly on price. Increased investment would see these two key points
improved dramatically.
Your job next?
So how can we give UK manufacturers the capital they need to
invest to stay globally competitive? The simple answer is to 'Buy British' -
probably not the most fashionable or politically correct thing to say.
Unfortunately, it could probably be said that in the past British manufacturers
have been there own worst enemies - late deliveries being the biggest problem .
To buy British, we need British engineering companies to produce the goods we
need, when we need them.
Sourcing goods abroad is the thin end of a very
long wedge. Blue collar jobs are generally the first to diminish, but it seems
that erosion carries on up the employment ladder, with whole operations
eventually disappearing abroad where costs are lower. The best way to safeguard
UK jobs is to invest in the UK.
So the question is, which Political Party
is willing to back British manufacturing? Most UK companies would like us to
join the single currency, but cut the amount of red tape and legislation which
has been introduced as a consequence of being part of the EU - a fundamental
contradiction, I would think. All three major parties are promising to cut
small business tax, but the debate on the euro is pretty much off the political
agenda - why? Here's looking forward to the referendum.... just don't hold your
breath.
Alright, I'll get off my soapbox now! But please don't assume that the rest of the world has more to offer than the UK - Buy British!
*The views above are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Celect Tools.
This document maintained by
nick@celect-tools.co.uk.
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Copyright © 2000 Celect Tools