FEBRUARY 2020 COMMENT
A shrug of
the shoulders
CHRIS BECK, EDITOR chris.beck@markallengroup.com
To quote T.S. Eliot: this is the way the world ends; not with a bang,
but with a whimper.
After three and a bit years of arguments, bluster and
controversy, Big Ben struck 11 o’clock on the evening of 31 January and,
just like that, we were out. But as the last bong faded into the night, what
did our brave new world look like?
Well, to be honest, it’s hard to immediately see the diff erence. Of
course, there are months – if not years – of (undoubtedly riveting) to-ing
and fro-ing left yet, but on the whole, the most momentous moment in the
country’s recent history was met with a collective sense of apathy. Maybe
the end of the football transfer window being on the same day played a
part: it’s almost as if people would rather watch players leaving Tottenham
Hotspur than the UK leaving a trading bloc.
Perhaps I’m being facetious – of course things weren’t going to change
overnight, and it was naive to expect otherwise. Perhaps, also, the national
shrug of the shoulders was a sign that we all just want to start talking
about literally anything else (boosting productivity, anyone? – see p18).
However, it’s also important that we, as an industry, continue to keep the
pressure on the government to ensure that whatever happens next is in
the best interest not just of manufacturing, but of the whole country.
Finally, Manufacturing Management is delighted to be the media partner
for Make UK’s National Manufacturing Conference (see my interview
with Make UK chief Stephen Phipson on p30), and will have a signifi cant
presence at one of the must-attend dates in the industry calendar. If you
are attending this year’s event, I look forward to seeing you there. C.Beck
Editor Chris Beck
chris.beck@markallengroup.com
Art Editor Neil Young
Production Manager Chloe Jeakins
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Publisher Luke Webster
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