Buzzing conference floors and a U-turn on steel tariffs – the momentum behind UK defence manufacturing is real and Brum is at the heart of it
Attending, speaking and exhibiting at the defence procurement conference this week, I was really impressed by the interest, contribution and enthusiasm at Millennium Point. What might be otherwise known as a “buzz in the rooms,” but I am a boomer and an accountant, so that kind of lingo would be like seeing Keir Starmer break-dancing.
A tank on the stand
How do you attract people to the stand of an accounting firm? Get a model main battle tank. Why not? And it worked. So well, in fact, that I have had to stop my team “testing it.” There is plenty of interest, though; it seems there is more enthusiasm for rearranging the topography of Snowdonia with military ordnance than for Financial Reporting Standards and tax relief. Who knew?
The serious message
The serious message here, though, is loud and clear. With a shrinking UK automotive production market, there is an incentive for the supply chain to diversify. With experience, capability and capacity in the UK supply chain, directives to the prime suppliers to source domestically from government, and a strategic desire from our armed forces for secure UK-based supplies, there is a great opportunity to be grasped.
Defence accreditation carries challenges, of course, especially for SMEs, but there is a growing spirit of collaboration borne of the need for our country to re-arm in an increasingly uncertain world.
Once again our great city, the workshop of our nation, is taking the lead in this movement. This conference is just the beginning, but it is an exciting start, and there is plenty of enthusiasm to take this forward with real actions.
A victory for lobbying
As I write this, I am delighted to note that after months of lobbying and campaigning, ramping up considerably over the last week or so, one of the key threats to defence procurement supply chain success has been addressed. The ill-conceived steel safeguarding tariffs are being reversed by government. This is a real victory for lobbying and a massive relief for SME manufacturers who were being undercut by offshore component suppliers, a situation that was potentially disastrous for a reshoring, secure UK supply chain. Congratulations to everyone who took part in pressuring MPs and government.
Talk to anyone with a military background and they will tell you that it is your patriotic duty to get involved and support the expansion of our UK defence capability. I would urge you to get involved. In an economy that continues to stutter, this could be the key to getting it moving again, whilst making our way of life safer and more secure in the process.
