Government policy on industry misses the target, says IMechE poll

Members of the public say the coalition is more committed to helping the financial sector than manufacturing

The government’s manufacturing policies have been overwhelmingly rejected by UK industrialists, a poll commissioned by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has revealed.

The survey of 1,000 manufacturers revealed that half of respondents believe the government is performing badly on industrial policy. Just 14% of those polled said the government is performing well.

These results follow figures from the Office for National Statistics which show that the country’s manufacturing sector has shrunk by 0.9% since the first quarter of 2011, while the services sector has grown by 1%.

The IMechE also polled 1,000 members of the public, and 72% said the government is more committed to the financial sector than manufacturing. Only 26% of respondents agreed that the government is committed to rebalancing the economy towards manufacturing.

In the strongest result of the survey, more than 75% of manufacturers and 72% of the public said the government should favour UK-based companies when awarding contracts, even if this is a more expensive option.

Philippa Oldham, head of manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: “The UK’s manufacturing sector has the potential to spearhead economic recovery and lead the country towards growth. Yet in the past 12 months what was a steady rise in manufacturing growth has turned into a slow crawl.

“Rebalancing the economy towards manufacturing is not an easy task. However these polls make it clear that the government’s policies to make it happen do not have the support of UK manufacturers or the public.

“The warm words about manufacturing we have been hearing over the past two years are starting to wear thin. It’s time for the government to engage with industry now to create a long-term industrial strategy that can put UK manufacturing, once the envy of the world, back on top.”

The independent telephone polls, commissioned by the institution, were conducted in April. MSS Research surveyed 1,000 members of the institution working in the manufacturing sector while ICM conducted a separate poll of 1,000 members of the public.

The two surveys form the institution’s Manufacturing a Successful Economy report, an annual barometer of the government’s performance and the health of the manufacturing sector.