MAKE UK CONFERENCE MARCH 2019
CONFERENCE
CALL
The voice of UK manufacturing must be better heard
by ministers as we head towards a Brexit cliff-edge,
delegates to this year’s Make UK conference were told
BY CHRIS BECK
M anufacturing is the ‘beating heart’
of the UK economy, and must be
listened to through a period of
turmoil. That was the message heard
by the record number of delegates –
almost 1,000 – who were packed into
the QEII Centre in Westminster on 19 February
to attend the annual Manufacturing Conference,
hosted by Make UK – the new name for EEF.
This year’s conference came with an added
edge, as it coincided with the news emanating
from Swindon that Honda is to close its factory
in the town in 2021, and the first raft of defectors
from the Labour party had jumped ship to set up
the new Independent Group in protest of the way
the party was handling Brexit.
All of this added up to what was described
by Make UK chief executive, Stephen Phipson
in his opening address as a “confusing and
difficult landscape” facing the industry. “We must
continue to be wary of the challenges, especially
in the automotive sector,” he told the room.
On Brexit, Phipson was equivocal, warning that
the industry is crying out for a number of things,
including a long transition period, frictionless
trade, access to skilled labour, close alignment
with EU values and – most importantly – “no
No-Deal.”
Phipson ended with a plea to those in charge.
“The Brexit pantomime must end,” he said. “It’s
time to stop messing about and sort it out.”
This was unlikely, warned the next speaker,
veteran broadcaster, Andrew
Neil. Instead, the onus should
be on industry to bring an end
to the chaos. “In my experience,
I’ve always found that politicians
just bring about problems,” he
joked. “It’s businesses that bring
the solutions.”
In a lively and engaging
speech, Neil explored the
growing trend across the
world for extremes of political
opinion, and the impact this
will have on businesses. “The
era of business-friendly politics
is over,” he warned. “The two
extremes of political opinion,
towards which we are moving,
are both hostile to success. The
state of the economy means
less and less to people today;
instead, it’s all about identity
and a feeling of belonging.”
This was a key reason behind
the Brexit vote, Neil continued,
and has left us in a tricky
situation, not helped by the
poor quality of politicians on
both sides of the Westminster
divide. “Sorting out Brexit
would have been tough enough
with competent people in
charge,” he said. “We have
the worst group of people in
UK politics that we have ever
seen – a terrible government
and a terrible opposition. As a
result, we are heading for a deal
that gives none of the benefits
of leaving and keeps all the
disadvantages of staying.”
Somewhat surprisingly,
his message was echoed by
Business Secretary, Greg Clark
(main image), who had kept the
audience guessing all morning
with a will-he, won’t-he routine:
Clark was due in the House
of Commons that afternoon
to make a statement on the
closure of the Honda factory.
To his credit, however, not only
did he turn up, but he stuck
around for questions, before
departing hastily from the stage.
In his speech, Clark was candid
about the state the Brexit
negotiations are in, and called
on manufacturing to lend its
weight to the process.
“The current uncertainty
around Brexit is unacceptable,”
he said. “Guidance from
organisations like Make UK
is vital; they, and the rest of
the sector, have helped shape
government policy and drive
Brexit forward. We are in
desperate need of a deal. The
Honda news demonstrates how
much is at stake.”
People have had enough
of so-called Project Fear,
continued Clark. “It’s now time
for Project Reality – industry,
and the general public, need
Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn
called out the
government’s
lack of
investment
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