I was having a discussion with friends recently and mentioned that the UK was sixth in the world league table for manufacturing. Some expressed surprise at this. Like many people they think that Britain had ceased to be a manufacturing country. I sometimes think this is a southern middle class myth and yet there is plenty of manufacturing in the south too. So why do people have such a low opinion of the British performance?
Part of the answer is that for some years there has been a tendency in the media and politics to ignore the modern form of manufacturing. It is no longer the metal bashing of yesteryear. High technology produces high cost goods and they can be very small. It is no accident that Britain still has the second largest and second most advanced aerospace industry in the world. Whether we will have after the government’s defence cuts and their lack of enthusiasm for an aviation policy remains to be seen.
People and the media ignore manufacturing in the uk, partly out of ignorance and partly out of confusion. Confusion because the difference between manufacturing and services is often hard to distinguish. Is doing the artwork and writing the software for a computer game manufacturing or services? We are the largest centre for computer games in Europe. It is a bigger business in Britain than films.
Ignorance because many manufacturing companies employ more people servicing their products than making them. That is what modern business demands. But these firms are thought to be service companies.
If we develop a product and write the software here in Britain and the product is made elsewhere is this manufacturing? This kind of intangible work is a major part of our economy. Components too can be manufactured here and re-imported as a finished product. Some of the special yarns and fabrics made here and elsewhere in Europe are exported to China and then re-imported as clothing “Made in China”.
As I said complex, confusing and misunderstood. But this is the way modern manufacturing works.
many manufacturing companies employ more people servicing their products than making them.
Retailing Firms like “espares” are clear proof of this.
Perhaps the fact that no vehicle made in the UK seems to have a recognizable British name any more is another reason for the lack of confidence. They nearly all have Japanese or German names, businesses which take 1-2% royalties for themselves and provide their name with it.
Look around your home, the brand names, the World leaders in electronics and such. How many British company names do you see ?
My Car, Japanese. My Computer, parts from Taiwan. My TV`s and screens Korean, German and Japanese.My mobile a Finish company. A lot of other stuff made under licence in China.
We still have some niche areas where we do well but all consumers see are foreign names on quality products. There are no large factories of British enterprise in our cities and towns because it`s cheaper to have third world labour produce. You simply cannot demand cheaper quality products and higher wages and still expect to be in manufacturing.
I regularly receive emails from Chinese Companies stating clearly they can manufacture whatever I require at extremely cheap prices. I don`t suppose they worry of Health and Safety or pay a minimum wage so I don`t think uk manufacturing can compete unless we stop all imports or tax them out of the market, which of course will never happen.
When I was a child every other person seemed to work in a factory, now they answer phones or are involved in selling.
As for computer games, how many in this top ten list are British ?
http://listphobia.com/2009/05/12/10-best-video-games-developers-of-the-world/
Is this your reply to Will Hutton’s claim that “…whereas in 1997 manufacturing output was 8% higher than in 1974, by 2009 it was 2.7% lower.” ?
Apparently, Ed Miliband is keen to draw on the ideas in Mr Hutton’s latest book. Perhaps you should ping him.
xx