Manufacturers urge closer Brussels ties after Tory ‘disregard of law’
‘We need to reset our relationship with the EU, which has been marked with rancour’
THE head of Britain’s manufacturing lobby group will today launch a scathing attack on the Conservative Party’s “disregard for the rule of law” and call for closer ties with the European Union.
Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, will argue that the Tories have damaged Britain’s international reputation and mismanaged their economy, and demand an industrial strategy to arrest the country’s decline.
Although the speech includes praise for Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, after he secured a deal with Brussels on the status of Northern Ireland, it is likely to be interpreted as a sign that business leaders are preparing for a Labour government.
Speaking at a conference in London, Mr Phipson will say: “We need to reset our political and trading relationship with the EU which has been marked by such rancour.
“While the unity of the response towards Ukraine has eased some of the tensions with the EU, the political mismanagement of our economy and, damage to the reputation of the UK as a partner on such a grand scale, together with the disregard of the rule of law in our political system cannot continue.”
Manufacturers, especially those in the complex car and aviation industries, have been critical of Britain’s terms of exit from the EU because of the extra paperwork and costs involved in moving parts back and forth over borders.
Steelmakers and other energy-intensive manufacturers are also frustrated at the lack of a government plan over support for their businesses, since competitors abroad, particularly in America, are having money thrown at them by way of subsidies.
Manufacturers are bringing operations back to the UK amid a fracturing of globalisation following the war in Ukraine and diplomatic crackdown on China, according to a Make UK survey, with 40pc of companies switching to domestic suppliers in the past year. However, almost half of companies said that EU suppliers are more cautious about working with British partners.
Mr Phipson will urge Mr Sunak to create an industrial strategy in part to attract battery plants for carmaking and to rescue Britain’s threatened motor industry whose production is still way below pre-pandemic levels.
He will say: “There is an urgent need to encourage battery capacity in the UK if we are to keep our automotive sector, one of the jewels in our manufacturing crown.”
The intervention comes after a series of complaints from business figures about how the Government is prioritising other matters over growth and jobs.
Businessman Iain Anderson, a friend of Liz Truss, the former prime minister, and of Michael Gove, quit the Conservatives after 40 years last month, citing the party’s “f--- business” attitude to Brexit – recalling an infamous outburst by Boris Johnson in 2018 – and his concerns that Mr Sunak will focus on culture wars rather than the economy.
The UK is expected to have the lowest growth this year of the G7 group of developed economies, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Donations from business leaders have helped propel Labour to its highest level of donations in 14 years with the Sainsbury family, of supermarket fame, leading the pack.
Last year, Make UK called on the Government to stop treating businesses as “the enemy within”, referring to the then prime minister Mr Johnson and his perceived anti-business stance.
It warned that overseas suppliers in turn were “turning their backs” on the UK as there are more fights than friendly words between Britain and its nearest neighbours and lead times grow longer.