Faye Skelton
Head of Policy, Make UK
For years, the UK has debated the need to ‘rebalance’ its economy. Now, with a long-term strategy in place, the conversation must shift decisively from ambition to execution.
Manufacturing today is smaller than in previous eras, but it remains foundational. It underpins 15%2 of UK value added when supply chains are included, generates the vast majority of export revenue across represented firms and sustains some of the highest productivity growth in the economy.
Output reached £220 billion at the end of 2025, and 44% of manufacturers believe the UK is more competitive than it was a decade ago.1
The potential is evident, but potential isn’t capacity.
Rebuilding capability
Decades of deindustrialisation hollowed out more than headline sectors; they weakened domestic supply chains, eroded foundational industries and reduced end-to-end production capability in strategically important areas.
Meanwhile, global trade has grown more volatile and input costs are less predictable. Make UK’s research repeatedly shows supply chain reliability now ranks alongside skills shortages as one of the most significant barriers to growth.
Modernisation in motion
Encouragingly, business priorities are evolving. Productivity is now the sector’s leading focus, and investment is shifting decisively toward digitalisation and AI.
Over the next five years, more firms expect to prioritise digital technologies than traditional plant and machinery. This signals a sector preparing not simply to expand, but to modernise.
44% of manufacturers believe the UK is more competitive than it was a decade ago.1
Delivery determines success
Whether that modernisation scales depends on delivery. Publishing a strategy isn’t the same as implementing it.
Long-term frameworks only build confidence if commitments are executed consistently and at pace. For manufacturers making multi-million-pound investment decisions, signals are insufficient — execution unlocks capital.
Internationally competitive energy policy, predictable cost structures, targeted investment incentives and a workforce equipped with advanced technical and digital skills are the enabling conditions of industrial capacity. If delivery falters, investment will divert elsewhere.
The UK doesn’t lack strategy. The test is whether Government can deliver it — with consistency, coordination and resolve — and translate ambition into tangible domestic capability. If it can, manufacturing will anchor a more resilient, productive and secure economy.
[1] Make UK (2026). Shape of British Industry report.
[2] Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy (2025) UK Innovation Report 2025: Structure and Performance of the UK Economy. University of Cambridge. Available at: https://www.ciip.group.cam.ac.uk/innovation/structure-and-performance-of-the-uk-economy-25/ (Accessed: 19 February 2026).
