Manufacturing suffers another setback on Osborne’s watch

Green Politics

The UK is still over-reliant for growth on inflated house prices and low paid jobs.

The UK is still over-reliant for growth on inflated house prices and low paid jobs

This week’s figures from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) show another slowdown in UK manufacturing and again demonstrate that George Osborne’s recovery is built on less than solid foundations.

Four years on from Osborne’s promised ‘March of The Makers’, the re-balancing of the economy has proved to be a failure – with the UK still over-reliant for growth on inflated house prices and low paid, low-skilled jobs in the service sector.

The BCC survey warns that any economic recovery will stall unless the UK’s export performance improves; and experts are predicting that figures later this month from the ONS will show that economic growth slowed between July and September, following 0.9 per cent growth in the second quarter.

The BCC says that that manufacturing growth at the beginning of 2014 has petered out, with companies now running below full capacity and the strong pound making UK manufactured goods more expensive in the world economy.

The survey of 7,000 UK companies also found that manufacturers experienced a slowdown in sales growth at home and abroad in the third quarter.

A balance of +16 per cent of manufacturers reported a rise in export sales, down from +30 per cent in the second quarter. It was the lowest balance since the fourth quarter of 2012. Growth in domestic manufacturing orders is also down on the second quarter.

Unite has been campaigning for an industrial strategy based on investment in manufacturing, re-shoring of the supply chain, the development of a strategic investment bank, the procurement of UK manufactured goods, continued EU membership and a new skills eco system.

Next month Unite will launch its Charter for UK Engineering – ‘Engineering Excellence’. Labour needs to heed the call the charter makes for long-term investment in UK engineering and the creation of decent, skilled jobs to grow the economy.

And it is not just the unions arguing for a strong manufacturing strategy. In a recent poll by the Engineering Employers Federation, ordinary voters said they wanted to see a resurgence of UK industry. In the poll four out of five voters (85 per cent) said they wanted a government which promotes a stronger UK manufacturing base, with 62 per cent believing it will give the country more economic security.

That is why Labour must ensure that an interventionist manufacturing strategy, with decent employment at its heart, is spelt out in the party’s General Election manifesto.

Tony Burke is assistant general secretary of Unite

No related posts.

23 Responses to “Manufacturing suffers another setback on Osborne’s watch”

  1. Guest

    Phowee!

  2. Guest

    Continued.
    It took Nissan and Toyota to improve management and revive the British Car industry and they only did that because we were in the Common market now the EU.

  3. Guest

    Phowee!
    Spite and vindictiveness being Cameron’s and Osbourne’ s stock in trade towards the less well and unpaid in society

  4. Guest

    The Tories were calling for even laxer regulation of the banks and finacial industries at the time, why else do you think they have been so asiduous in deleting the record of their speeches from the WEB?

  5. Phil Hove

    Get real. What sort of irrelevant weak point is that when discussing manufacturing?

    All oppositions oppose in any event but it is about what you do with power when in power, like the plethora of Coalition banking reforms coming through since 2010.

    But another example, to counter, you just have to look at every Coalition welfare and benefits reform. incidentally supported by 73% of the nation, Labour has voted against in parliament.

    Stop trying to blame others for Labours failings. We have had enough of that and the Labour failures buzzwords are now well known, but you probably need reminding:

    Vote Labour – Get Rotherham
    +
    NHS Wales
    STAFFORD
    MORECOMBE
    PIE
    DEFICIT – LARGEST PEACETIME EVER
    ECCELSTON
    TOWER HAMLETS
    Illegal IRAQ – Lies WMD – Resulting ISIS – BEHEADINGS
    FGM
    CAMPBELL SPIN – KELLY DEAD
    IMMIGRATION MILLIONS
    EU 55 MILLION PER DAY
    EDUKASION– UK WENT FROM BEING IN WORLD TOP 10 TO LATE 20S
    PUBLIC SECTOR RAMMED
    RECORD – TEENAGE Mums’ – SOCIALLY HOUSED
    BBC BIAS
    ENGLAND DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT POST DEVOLUTION
    TROJAN HORSES
    HUMAN RIGHTS ACT
    BENEFITS STREET LIFESTYLE CHOICE
    CHILCOT
    QUANGOS STUFFED
    PFI GENERATIONAL EXTORTION
    MULTI CULTI FAIL
    NEETS – HIGHEST EVER
    SHARIA COURTS
    MEMORY LAPSING LEFTY RENTAGOBS
    INEQUALITY HIGHEST EVER
    FOREIGN AID CORRUPTION
    BEQUEATHED COALITION LONGEST RECESSION
    LOWEST GROWTH FOR GENERATION
    GPs 100k pa – COMBINE CANCEL OUT HOURS = A&E OVERLOAD
    BANKING REGS – WORLD FINANCE CENTRE FAIL
    CHEAP GOLD – 400 TONS OF IT!
    MANUFACTURING LARGEST EVER DECLINE
    HOUSE BUILDING LOWEST SINCE 20S
    ZERO POWER STATIONS BUILT
    MILLENNIUM DOME
    COOP BANK FAIL
    FUEL DUTY ESCALATOR
    ISLAMFICATION OF THE NATION
    CRONY MPs DYNASTY – BLAIR – STRAW- DROMEY – BENN – HARMAN
    LISBON TREATY WITHOUT REFERENDUM
    POSTAL VOTING FRAUD
    50% ATTENDING UNI –ONLY 20% GRAD JOBS AVAIL
    CLIMATE CHANGE ZEAL
    MUSLIM PATROLS
    MADRASES
    PENSIONS RAIDED

Comments are closed.