What can be done to help manufacturing in the United Kingdom?

We seem to have sold up everything!!   manufacturing has mainly been taken abroad for cheaper overheads, food is shipped in from thousands of miles away while our farmers who, in most cases produce superior products, go out of business or turn to the leisure industry. It seems to be pretty much across the board. And i think we seem to be waking up and saying hey....what have we done!   we used to be self sufficient, but now we're having to rely on everyone else, and suffer inferior products!!! 

Saying that, its so expensive to run a business in the UK, it makes it very easy for this kind of thing to happen, and very difficult to stay afloat.

 I think people are slowly realising you get what you pay for, and hopefully in the long run it can turn around. Just lets hope enough people realise to make the difference!!

Hi Jason

There are approx 10 million receiving some kind of benefit. 1.7 million are long term unemployed, the rest are students, carers, retirees, mums, disabled, people working but on low income, etc, etc. A lot of them are genuinely receiving some kind of benefit which doesn't bother me. However I am pleased to hear that the government plans to make the unemployed work for their benefits.

 Hi Steve,

I agree , i'm happy for the genuine to recieve benifits. But in my line of work I visit a LOT of people who sponge off us. I realise I only see a small percentage, but its still a fair few people. Kind of irritating.

We have the same problem over here, and I well rember an time when we could buy an "Britanica" blue jean...and I can remeber going to British Columbia and buying small tea cakes in 50 to an package at all the bakeries, neither exist now. You can hardly find tea cups at consumer level prices. They can't seemingly compete on the meat market by offering us decent priced "Lamb" to eat also. Anything "metal" has slowly went out the door and yet is much more durable then plastic is. they have out sourced our products and jobs to countries.... an underground internet thing going on.."Buy American" For the most part products are not geared at the consumer level at an decent price. Living off the governemnt is the norm..instead of the exception these days, and whose supporting the government but the people they are laying off.  In my estimation the car insdustry was just waitng to happen..why?..they want to turn over cars constanlty, but not at cheap prices, when an car costs into the $30,000 range, it's not quite like your new "chevy" people bought in the 60's at $3,000 brand new...when they charge $400,00 for an new house, it's not quite like the new houses of the $60,000 range in the 70's...of equal size and value.  I heard an older person say that when she was an younger gal, her family in her business considered themselves doing good to break even on every year's end in profit vs. expnses,,,but now all CEO's are expected to conintually out rank every year with another 25 per cent profit, or they make the business go "belly up" all together. She claims our "thinking" is unrealistic...and is the backbone to our problems. for the pursuit of an huge profit margin we have thrown "out the baby with the bath water" sort as to say. I listened to an person tell how by rising prices, an store keeper can sell perhaps less merchandise, but at the same time still keep the same profit...and lay off an employee..and actually come out ahead. It might work until you loose your customers from to high an prike hikes continually.I doubt the employee "let go" is going to want to shop the store there after either. The bottom line is you can't expect others to constantly "give" and not yourself at some time also. In my 60 years, I've worked full time about half of them..here's the reasons why many of them through time went out of business or changed hands...(1) not keeping up with quality to equal pricing, (2) Inadequate employees...(it amazes me the kick-backs, the stealing, and the underhanded techniques people use these days to get ahead).... (3) Lack of  newer technology (4) lack of defined organiztion and goals within the company (5.) lack of customer service...and follow through. I worked for one place where all the employees wanted to be the "boss" and more so then did the their "boss"...he wanted to be someplace else all the time I guess. I think of all the thousands of businesses over the last 100 years here, they said but only five of them have survived all these years...over that 100 years since they were founded.

Helping domestic manufacturing seems to be something that a lot of us care about.  Of course if we make inferior or grossly expensive goods we don't deserve customers.  I believe in free trade, protectionism is only acceptable as a short term rescue measure in dire circumstances.  In the UK trade seems to be weighted against home industries and a lot of the imports are of inferior quality produced under dreadful conditions.  Sir 3Alan Sugar in the Daily Mirror on Monday had an article which partially addressed this malaise.  He pointed out that the biggest prucahser of goods in the country is government.  In France the government has a policy of purchasing French goods and services whenever they can; they know that by supporting French companies they are helping their country.  In the UK purchasing managers do not show such loyalty.

As individuals all we can do is protest.  The selection of goods in the shops is determined by the retailer buyer and not by the customer; if the retail buyers show more preference to domestic producers then we have the choice.  That choice has been taken away over the last 50 years by not requiring the country of origin to be declared and allowing domestic companies to rebadge foreign products as their own.  I was in the electrical department of John Lewis at the weekend and was dismayed that a Kenwood breadmaker we liked had no indication of where it came from despite being the most expensive one on display.  When I asked the assistant and department manager where they were made they hadn't a clue but thought that it was probably China.  Not only did they not know but they did not care and John Lewis amongst all our retailers has the best reputation for service and quality.  I would like to see British goods displaying a small Union Jack on their packaging and where practical on the products themselves and for all goods to be required to show their country of origin.  I do also think it is reasonable to ban the import of goods that are of proven poor quality or are shown to be dumped (sold at uneconomic prices to achieve market share).

In the Daily Mirror on Monday the 26th January Sir Alan Sugar wrote a very good article on the importance of buying British (domestic) in which he pointed uot that the biggest purchaser of goods and serivce is the government itself.  He said essentially that the British Government shows scant loyalty to British Manufacturers where as the French Government always purchases French goods and services where it can.  It prompted me to send a letter to the Daily mirror which they published yesterday.