Manufacturing in the UK

Article

A clear and balanced view of the role and prospects for manufacturing and the appropriate policy response from government.

The manufacturing industry has long held a special position for the centre-left in British politics. However, there has been a long-standing lack of clarity about why manufacturing matters, what our ambitions for the sector should be and how we can achieve them. More recently there has been a degree of wnwarranted pessimism about the sector, which has indeed suffered a particularly difficult time in the last few years.

This report provides a clear and balanced view of the role and prospects for manufacting, and the appropriate policy response from government. Broad in scope, it examines some of the key elements of economic policy as they apply to the sector including the economic framework, investment, skills, innovation and enterprise.

Related items

  1. A view of Glasgow, Scotland, from above.

    More than a safety net: The welfare state as springboard to economic success and a better country

    A perceived conflict between social spending and economic dynamism is deeply embedded in both Scottish and UK political discourse.
  2. The Home Office building in London

    Far from settled: The government’s ‘earned settlement’ consultation

    How long should people have to wait until they can permanently settle in the UK? This is the core question underpinning the Home Office’s ‘earned settlement’ policy, currently out for consultation.

  3. Rethinking public sector productivity

    This is the second in a series of IPPR Scotland blogs as part of our project on Employment, Productivity and Reform in the Scottish Public Sector. This project is funded by the Robertson Trust.