Manufacturing group’s plea to PM

Ian Williamson, speaking on behalf of the Midland Manufacturing Group, said in a letter to David Cameron that in General Election debates the importance of manufacturing was emphasised.

The letter went on: “For small, medium and large enterprises, there has been little reform to boost manufacturing, training and growth in the UK since the General Election.

“There has also been a significant trend regarding the sale of our larger companies to overseas competitors.

“The UK is now reliant on them for ensuring the research and development high-value, high-skill jobs remain in the UK.

“We desperately need to address and tackle the issues that constrain and restrict our manufacturing sector from growing faster and prosper and improve our balance of payments.”

Mr Williamson, of Knights Meadow, Kenilworth, said he was in talks about holding a debate on manufacturing early next year to gain a collective opinion of Midlands manufacturing about the reforms they believe are needed.

He said: “If we lose our manufacturing base we are never going to get it back.

“The West Midlands is the heartland of our manufacturing and we need trading conditions to allow it to prosper.”

The Midland Manufactur-ing Group includes industrialists and professional bodies and seeks to reverse the trend in manufacturing which has seen the loss of thousands of jobs at workplaces in the area.

These include Automotive Products in Leamington, and Arden Products, Clarke Clulley and Norgren Martiner in Kenilworth, as well as the region’s automotive industry.