Britain is going through a difficult time, when its sustained ability to punch above its weight, economically and diplomatically, is ebbing. The end of irrational exuberance found the country ill at ease with itself, with rising inequalities and unhealthy nationalism, just when it needs to be fleet-footed in recognising that many of the traditional pillars of its strengths have changed. The need is to recognise other supports and partners and find a new common purpose after the pandemic. I live in hope.

manufacturing: of modest criticality

Manchester was built on manufacturing, which turned a small town into a global driver of the industrial revolution, but it's been mostly downhill for the last 60 years or so. Now, it seems to have bottomed out and the slow move up the value curve and towards more service-based activity, pepped up by sterling's devaluation, gives hope for increased value, if not for employment...

Attached File: manufacturing.pdf