For the first time, the United Kingdom fell out of the ranking of the ten leading countries in the world for industrial production, reports the British newspaper The Times, citing data from the Make UK association, as cited by Focus.
According to experts, the decline occurred against the background of "redrawing the contours" of the world economy and is due to external rather than internal causes.
In 2022, the UK fell from eighth to 12th place in the ranking of manufacturing economies, behind Mexico and Russia, which rose to seventh and eighth place respectively.
"Mexico benefits from increased investment from China, while Russia boosts defense output to 6% of GDP, China tops, followed by US," the article says.
While the decline is linked to global developments, Make UK warns that the UK's manufacturing sector, which produces output worth £217 billion and generates around 2.6 million jobs, needs a coherent "long-term strategy" .
The association's CEO Stephen Phipson called the lack of such a strategy the "Achilles heel" of the country, advocating a plan to increase manufacturing to 15% of the national economy. Phipson emphasized that major economies such as Germany, China and the United States have long-term manufacturing strategies that emphasize the important role of industrial bases in economic success.
Another expert, Paul Drexler, criticized London's policy changes, inconsistent funding and the lack of a robust industrial strategy as the main obstacles to the sector's growth.