Despite many predicting a Labour victory in yesterday’s general election, the scale of the swing from the Conservative party may have surprised some, with a number of high profile Tory MPs losing their seat. The manufacturing sector will be asking what the future may hold under a Labour government. Here, we look at the reaction from industry.
Stephen Phipson, Chief Executive, Make UK: “I congratulate Sir Keir Starmer on leading his party to a decisive general election victory. Business will welcome such a clear result and an end to the political and economic instability of the last few years which is essential for companies to now bring forward much needed investment.
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“Looking ahead, the new government has a lot in its in-tray to address. First and foremost is the urgent need to kick-start the UK’s anaemic growth levels of recent years and, boost investment in our infrastructure, without which we cannot address the many urgent priorities the country faces at national and regional level.
“A modern, long-term industrial strategy which tackles the skills crisis in particular will be key to delivering this growth. Manufacturers stand ready to work with the new government and all stakeholders as a matter of urgency to help deliver this.”
Andrea Wilson, Director, Hone-All and champion of the Support UK Manufacturing movement: “The country has spoken and whether they have spoken as to what they do want, or simply to remove what they don’t want, the only thing we can do now is hope that the Labour Party will keep their promise of working with businesses to ensure growth and prosperity for the UK.
Hopefully, they will quickly implement their commitments to manufacturing including a cohesive and long-term industrial strategy and the formation of an industrial council – hopefully with SME representation.
The icing on the cake would be the recruitment of a Manufacturing Champion to take the lead on strategy implementation and promotion of the sectors and supply chains.”
Rachel Eade, Chair, UK Metals Council: “As the UK enters a new era of change under Sir Kier Starmer’s leadership, we must ensure we continue the important debate with government and civil servants to recognise and actively support manufacturing across the country.
This includes positively positioning manufacturing and its career paths, whilst quickly reviewing the Apprenticeship Levy to enable upskilling across all levels of the workforce.
There is important work to do on international trade arrangements and the myriad of regulations and tariffs that stifle our exports. For the metals sector, the saga around Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) needs a positive resolution, ensuring the Made in the UK brand is allowed to flourish.
The renewed call for a Minister for Manufacturing should accelerate this conversation and bring together tens of trade bodies under one concerted message.
With a new era beginning, manufacturers are ready to address productivity, efficiency and the road to Net Zero – we could just do with the support and stability of the elusive Industrial Strategy.”
Stephen Morley, President of the Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM): “My first bit of advice to our new Prime Minister following the general election is to stop telling everyone that your dad was a ‘toolmaker’ and your family were poor. This is putting young people off following a career in manufacturing, a career that can be well paid and take you all over the world. We need more toolmakers, designers, quality engineers, procurement specialist and CNC operators and it will give you a good life!
“Like many in our sector, we would love to see a long-term industrial strategy that plays to the UK strengths and acknowledges the challenges we face. Ideally, we’d like to see something that is cross-party or has a royal charter that ensures longevity regardless of the political persuasion.
“A dedicated minister for manufacturing is a campaign the CBM has added our voice to and could be an early win if Labour wanted to show a willingness to place new importance on a sector that drives innovation, supports GDP and creates high-skilled jobs. There must, however, be a clear recognition of SMEs and a desire to look past the B5 lobbying groups, giving a vital part of the economy the recognition it deserves.
“The impact of leaving the EU continues to bring widespread disruption to UK manufacturing, yet not one party in the lead-up put forward a potential resolution. This is something that Keir Starmer needs to address urgently.
“Finally, skills…skills…skills. We urgently need a review of the Apprenticeship Levy and how funding in this pot can be spent. There needs to be more creativity and an ability to allow manufacturers to spend it on different types of technical courses that they specifically need and will create the employees they require.
“There is also an argument that the current funding structure doesn’t encourage training providers to support Level 2 apprentices, which traditionally is what we call foundation Level. We’re all for upskilling, but we’re missing an important rung of the engineering ladder.”
Davie Carns, CEO of NIS Group: “Infrastructure, house building, maintenance and repair – these are all huge opportunities for growth for the new government from this general election result.
“We would like to see an early statement of intent from Labour to commit to investment in infrastructure and supporting the construction industry.
“But this means tackling the skills challenge in this vitally important sector. A report this week by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) forecasts that, in order to stand still on the current pipeline of projects, a further 251,000 extra workers will be needed by 2028 in an industry already employing over 2.5million people.
“NIS Group stands ready to continue playing our part, supporting the construction industry, supporting local communities by providing local jobs and supporting the Government in seeking to grasp these opportunities for growth.”
Tony Hague, CEO, PP Control & Automation: “There was no real surprise with today’s general election result. Conservatives have paid a heavy price for many years of ineffectiveness, personified by the Liz Truss mini budget that rocked the economy and left many of us still paying the financial price. After 14 years of the same government, a change was almost inevitable.
In truth, the current Labour manifesto is fairly central and balanced, albeit the concern of increased taxes is always there.
From a UK manufacturing perspective, we await with interest what positive steps they may take in the short and long-term. Some relatively easy decisions that could have a big impact, include a revised R&D policy, a review on corporation tax and more sustained support for SMEs around export.
Now the election is over, we must see positive and bold action from the Bank of England, and this should start with interest rate cuts to stimulate the economy and reduce the cost of borrowing.
Personally, I would welcome some real incentives around the housing market. If we see a strong construction sector, the rest of the economy generally follows.”
Gareth Jones, Managing Director, In-Comm Training: “To be fair to the Conservatives, they did put apprenticeships back on the map and reignite its credibility among learners, parents and employers.
“This was no small feat, but now the baton has been passed to Labour to build on this evolution and there have already been some big promises leading up to this election – widening the scope of the Apprenticeship Levy would be a very welcome move for example.
“Channelling further funding to schools to boost English and maths standards is the right thing to do. Too often, young people leave without achieving these GCSEs and we have to step in to deliver the functional skills they require to start a pathway into vocational learning. Why should we have to do something in a short period of time that schools haven’t achieved in five years?
“The future of skills provision will be very interesting under the new government. In recent years, capital grants and funding have been strategically available for the right projects and the right private sector providers, and this has ensured that access to training is more employer-led, impactful and delivering the skills industry actually requires.
“This must be maintained, and we can’t go back to the period where money was just given to public-owned universities and colleges.
“Going forward, Labour’s manifesto states that it will push decisions on skills spend out of Westminster and into local communities to decide what they require, presumably continuing with the theme of devolution.
“We would welcome this as long as the funding is open to the best providers and organisations and not ringfenced for the few.
“Industry requires a long-term strategy to build trust and give companies confidence to invest. To have a strong economy we must be making product – I’ve said it for years, yet many companies are dying with their owners choosing to retire rather than succession planning. We want a strong industrial sector with pathways to jobs for all.”
Glynn Williams, UK Managing Director, Grundfos: “In the wake of this general election, attention should turn swiftly to the key issues the country faces – not least the energy inefficiency of our homes and commercial buildings. Our research tells us that eight in ten people who switched their vote from Conservative to Labour since 2019 think the outgoing government didn’t do enough on energy efficiency, and they will expect swift action from the new one.
“Focusing only on insulation will not be enough to deliver the savings on energy bills that people need. This government should therefore consider extending boiler and insulation schemes to include cost-effective and easily implementable solutions such as circulator pumps, thermostatic radiator valves, and pipe insulation.
“We congratulate Labour on their landslide win and look forward to seeing their energy efficiency strategy take shape in partnership with industry experts. We would urge them to explore the hitherto underused low-hanging fruit that offers opportunities to save on bills and emissions.”
Volodymyr Levykin, CEO and Founder of Skyrora: The new government must create a supportive environment for the space sector in the form of both private and public investment. Not only will funding this innovation place the UK at the forefront of this industry globally, it will also help foster economic growth and job creation. Unlocking sovereign access to space and enabling the sector to thrive is the key to strengthening our national security and defence capabilities. This, in combination with greater defence investment for UK businesses, should not fall off the political agenda.”
Andriy Dovbenko, Principal and Founder of UK-Ukraine TechExchange: Labour has acknowledged the importance of defence and the investment required to not only safeguard the UK but its allies as well. However, a larger defence spend is necessary and this funding should not slip down the political agenda.
Beyond this, the unspeakable atrocities in Ukraine have demonstrated that more than just increases to public defence budgets will be required to combat any threats. We also need to stay on the cutting edge of defence innovation and invest in emerging technologies that will help to achieve and maintain security. This will be aided by Labour acting on its pledge to promote innovation and prioritise UK businesses for defence innovation, so that these companies can reach their full potential.
These dual-use solutions will serve a purpose after the war and help maintain peace and security. We have also seen how increased globalisation and interconnectedness is impacted by a nation at war: from food insecurity to soaring fuel and energy prices. Conflict reverberates around the world as its effects are felt by the nation experiencing it and those further afield.
Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive, EngineeringUK: “As the new government has rightly recognised, we need to nurture a greater pool of talent in engineering and technology including more apprenticeship opportunities for young people, to meet current demand and to help our economy to thrive and to achieve our net zero goal.
“We have been asking for a national engineering and technology workforce strategy for some time to streamline coherent action and replace the current approach of different areas developing their own solutions in isolation, and sometimes, effectively, in competition.
“In order to address skills shortages in the future, the workforce strategy needs to link to a comprehensive education and skills plan underpinned by enhanced careers advice in schools and an urgent solution to current STEM teacher shortages. We will be doing what we can to support the new government in taking action to turbo charge the sector.”
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