Making at Home, Owning Abroad

Dr Finbarr Livesey, POLIS, University of Cambridge, Julie Madigan, chief executive, The Manufacturing Institute and the Rt Hon Vince Cable MP discuss the findings of a new RSA/Lloyds Banking Group report on the future facing the UK’s mid-sized manufacturers.

An expert panel debates the findings of a new RSA/Lloyds Banking Group report on the future facing the UK’s mid-sized manufacturers.

The research takes a forward look at the global context facing the UK’s manufacturers, and the opportunities for the UK.

In a context where boosting domestic manufacturing growth, exports and jobs is the immediate priority, the report examines how a combination of economic, technology, resource-based and environmental drivers of change will change the logic of globally distributed modes of manufacturing production, and could lead to a significant ‘reshoring’ of production. As a result, the emphasis on exports could shift towards a focus on acquiring and owning foreign production assets. The benefits could include the growth of new firms and markets, a substantial improvement in the balance of trade, and progress towards achieving the necessary reductions in industrial carbon emissions.

The report makes a number of practical recommendations to inform future industrial strategy and, in particular, focuses on the implications for the UK’s mid-sized manufacturers, who, it is argued, may be best placed to capitalise on these opportunities.

Speaker: Dr Finbarr Livesey, Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Cambridge.

Lead respondent: Rt Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

Discussant: Julie Madigan, chief executive, The Manufacturing Institute

Chair: Matthew Taylor, chief executive, RSA

Introductory remarks from David Oldfield, Managing Director, SME and Mid Markets Banking, Lloyds Banking Group