Kemi Badenoch is hoping no-one notices Britain’s manufacturing slump

Last year, in a flurry of articles, the news was trumpeted across the business pages of the British press. UK manufacturing output had overtaken that of our age-old rivals France, and we were now the eighth-largest manufacturing nation in the world.

True we were still far behind China, America, German and Japan to name just four, but the French had been vanquished and the right wing media celebrated.

The Daily Telegraph ran with “The French can only envy the quiet resilience of British manufacturing.” The Daily Express led with “Sorry Remainers! Now Brexit Britain leaps over France in the world’s largest manufacturing list”, while the Daily Mail went for “Va-va-boom! Brexit Britain’s manufacturing sector leapfrogs France to become the eighth biggest in the world with a value of £218 billion”

Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary was all over the place boasting of Britain’s boom times.

But the headlines this year will not be as cheerful as last time. In 2022, the latest year for which data is available, the UK fell back behind the French.

The nation that invented the industrial revolution and was at one time the undisputed number one manufacturer in the world, has not just fallen to ninth. We are now 11th. Overtaken by not only France but also both Mexico and Russia; to be relegated out of the top ten for the first time since records began.

There are, of course, obvious reasons for this relative decline. Russia’s increased production is almost all down to armaments; tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles and so on, for which it has a pretty insatiable demand since the Ukrainians are destroying them as fast as they can make the stuff.

Mexico is the world champion at near-shoring. Covid showed long and risky supply chains might be cheap, but they are not reliable and so American manufacturers and suppliers have been looking around for somewhere safe, cheap and close to put their factories. Mexico comes top of that list, being right next door and in a free trade zone with the USA and cheap.

France seems to have just overtaken us again, perhaps it is something to do with being in the EU, with a massive market, no barriers to trade and a continent wide industrial and green technology strategy. Who knows?

Don’t hold your breath for the analysis, because there won’t be much. The figures are available on the website of UNCTAD, the UN’s trade and development arm, just like last year, and have been for a while now. Badenoch’s Department for Business and Trade must be aware of the new data but also seems to be sitting on this fascinating development. The Tory press has been silent.

I am not sure why. After all last year, it was thought that rising one position to eighth was headline-making proof of the brilliance of Brexit. Falling three places in just one year is surely even more newsworthy? No?

Oh dear, maybe the government will just hope no one notices?