IN A RECENT survey of the British public, respondents were asked where they believed the country ranked in the global manufacturing league table. The median answer, 43rd, was a little wide of the mark. The latest comparable data, for 2021, make Britain the world’s eighth-biggest manufacturer, up one place from 2020 and (better still) overtaking France.
Wow, that is one incredible leap, using data on growth from 2007 to 2021 to conclude that a process that started in 2020 wasn’t so bad.
People think UK is 43rd, when it is 8th. That shows a disconnect between what people think and the facts.
The latest comparable data, for 2021, make Britain the world’s eighth-biggest manufacturer, up one place from 2020
Incontrovertible fact. Where is the brexit effect?
The food industry is the single largest component of British manufacturing, accounting for almost one-quarter of total output, even if politicians and television reporters generally prefer hard hats to hairnets when going on a factory visit. Much of it has always relied on domestic labour, suppliers and sales, so that although Brexit made both recruitment and exports of fresh produce trickier, it has not derailed the majority of firms. Some have even managed to increase their domestic market share at the expense of EU imports. Meanwhile at the top of the value chain, in areas such as aerospace and pharmaceuticals, companies have tended to have the pricing power to overcome the added burdens of new trade frictions.
Ergo, the brexit effect is fuck all. The economic effects were way over hyped, as admitted by the Remain campaign lead
