Reindustrialising Britain has sat at the top of the government’s agenda in the run-up to this Budget, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey both committing to it. And so, we were hopeful that they would show real steps towards achieving this ambitious goal, despite the difficult economy. Unfortunately, today’s Budget lacked the necessary ambition to back up the manufacturing industry.
On the upside, it was encouraging to see the British Data Centre Covenant announced, as more needs to be done to bring the UK public on board when it comes to the construction of data centres, and getting them connected to the grid.
Although other announcements, such as the additional funding for the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank, may potentially result in opportunities within the power generating systems industry, there was not enough support offered to manufacturers, who are currently held back by high energy prices. Plans to break the link between gas and electricity prices are welcome, but manufacturers need more immediate action to bring down their energy bills.
Power generation systems manufacturing is vital for energy resilience, and we’ll continue to work with partners such as Make UK to bring our members’ expertise to the government so that reindustrialising Britain is something that can be actioned, rather than just talked about.
