For a long time the manufacturing industry in the UK has been largely ignored by the government in favour of an emphasis on the financial and banking sector in London and the South East.
This ultimately began under Margaret Thatcher who turned away from manufacturing when she saw that foreign markets, such as South East Asia, were able to produce commodities cheaper and quicker, with workforces who knew very little about the living wage or human rights.
The result of this decision in the 1980’s saw the