The research was conducted by Make UK who have stated as a topline that “aversion to risk and long payback times have resulted in a culture of underinvestment in infrastructure projects in the UK”.

Some of their key findings include:

• 54% of manufacturers say national road infrastructure has deteriorated in the last 10 years
• Three quarters of manufacturers say road networks are important to supply chains and over half disagreed with the scrapping of the northern leg of HS2
• 64% of companies report that digital infrastructure has improved over the last decade
• This vastly improved digital connectivity has enabled nearly half of Britain’s manufacturers (44%) to invest in digital technologies and boost growth and new jobs
• 71% of companies say better quality infrastructure increases productivity

But… It’s not all bad news!

The report has also shown that there’s been massive investment into the UK’s digital infrastructure, with 5G connectivity and digital rollouts being the stand outs.

The report focussed on three areas of UK infrastructure… Road, rail and digital, and how’d they’d improved (or not) over the last ten years.

Many manufacturers that took part in the poll stated they felt that successive governments had placed far too much emphasis on the upfront cost of infrastructure projects instead of their long-term benefits.

The research, unsurprisingly, also found many regional differences, with northern manufacturers much more critical of the current state of road infrastructure than anywhere else in the UK.

North Western and North Eastern manufacturers are also split, with 68% in the NW saying roads had declined in the last ten years compared to 43% in the NE.

Over half of the manufacturers polled also disagreed heavily with the decision to axe the northern leg f HS2.

“Following years of underinvestment this new Government now needs to be bold on its infrastructure investment and realise the productivity improvements of doing so. At the top of this agenda must be repairing our roads with British manufacturers wanting to see an immediate focus on A roads and Motorways. To help make this happen, manufacturers want to see more local decision making and support for local authorities to speed up planning processes. Increased investment in local bus networks to connect out-of-town areas would also give more young people the chance to work in the well-paid manufacturing sector, while long term rail projects are desperately needed to connect more east-west connections to truly deliver an equal share of opportunities around the whole of the UK”

Stephen Phipson – CEO, Make UK

Make UK Policy have, from the back of their research, made several recommendations to the new Labour Government:

• Commit to long-term infrastructure projects to ensure the UK is attractive for FDI
• Speed up planning processes by giving increased powers to local authorities/mayors to build local infrastructure faster, such as tram networks, and road repairs.
• Progress the Fair Funding Review’s proposals to increase retention from business rate (or any newly established property tax) receipts so local authorities can flexibly plan long-term investments in infrastructure.
• Repair existing road networks to ensure manufacturers can access logistics and skills, with a focus on A roads and Motorways in the UK.
• Invest in local bus networks that connect to out-of-town areas more frequently to enable younger people to reach manufacturing businesses.
• Long-term rail projects should create more east-west connections to generate a more equitable share of opportunities.
• Rail freight stations and depots should be better integrated with road networks to ensure this mode of transport is an attractive choice for manufacturers.