Vote manufacturing petition

No other business sector offers such potential for restoring the UK economy, but unless there is a significant change in the next government's attitude, the future of the industry could be severely threatened. Five main concerns were raised at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' London headquarters in March. The Future of UK Manufacturing Summit was attended by key industry and political figures who called for long term leadership; a change in culture to encourage youngsters into the industry; the need to address engineering skills; action on incentives and taxes; and the need to ensure pricing is fair on energy costs. Following the summit, the Vote Manufacturing Campaign was launched, and this has resulted in an online petition to pressurise the Prime Minister to put these crucial measures into place. When one considers that UK manufacturing employs three million people directly, with a further two million providing services, the opportunity to get the message across has never been easier. The internet is a powerful tool and should not be underestimated. By 'spreading the word' via social networking sites, emailing colleagues and friends or adding links to your own website, it needn't take long for the list of supporters to become considerable.