Manufacturing strategy needed

Ministers have still not “got to grips” with formulating a coherent manufacturing strategy, as industrial output dipped sharply in July, warned general union Unite last month.


The union said that the success of the UK car industry was masking the underlying weakness in the economy, compounded by a widening trade deficit. Data released by the Office for National Statistics said manufacturing suffered its first fall in yearly terms in July since August 2013.


Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing Tony Burke said: “The message is stark — chancellor George Osborne’s so-called ‘march of the makers’ has gone into reverse gear.


“Unite has repeatedly castigated the government for its lack of a manufacturing strategy — a blueprint for the next decade. There has not been the promised rebalancing of the economy and there is still a continuing, too-strong reliance on the service sector and the City for jobs and growth.”


Burke explained that the biggest reason for the fall in manufacturing was car production, with the traditional summer shutdowns starting earlier than usual and exposing the overall weakness in the economy.


He added that “this has been mirrored by the widening trade deficit with a 9% fall in the export of goods in July, especially in the chemical and manufacturing sectors”.

www.unitetheunion.org/news/weakness-in-manufacturing-output-puts-pressure-on-ministers-for-manufacturing-blueprint

www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/22/uk-factory-output-stalls-strong-pound-manufacturing