We don’t make much ‘stuff’ in the United Kingdom. For more than two centuries we were the world’s principal manufacturer of textiles, steel, machinery, building materials and then through to engineering products like steam trains, machinery and eventually cars and aeroplanes.
From about the 1960’s onwards manufacturing in the UK was in decline and we became largely a service based economy. The UK exports a lot of services and lots of revenue is earned from these exports which is good but we need to manufacture things as well.
‘Made in Britain’ used to be a symbol of quality and national pride. We were the envy of other nations and our products were often copied with (usually poor) imitations.
The world is changing rapidly and it is time we brought more manufacturing home to the shores of Great Britain. I have always believed it is a Government’s responsibility to ensure there are jobs for the population. Some people are just not suited to working in technology or on the phone, many have engineering skills and need to work in that field. Others just want a simple job and some areas of manufacturing suit their desires perfectly.
If a country relies too much on imports then that country is at the mercy of currency fluctuations (if the value of your currency goes down then imports cost more). If there is no choice but to buy imported goods then a country is at the mercy of the exporter if that country raises prices or restricts supply.
If goods are manufactured on the other side of the world the environmental impact of shipping is huge and in the time it takes for a boat load of ‘stuff’ to get here from the Far East that ‘stuff’ may be out of vogue or not in demand any longer.
There are many, many reasons to ‘re-shore’ some of our manufacturing sector and it is something our Government should get to grips with along with other problems like dangerous potholes in our roads and our porous borders!
