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Britain’s industrial future needs towns like Burnley at the table

As a Burnley workwear and embroidery supplier, we work every day with local manufacturers, contractors, colleges and community organisations. Their investment decisions shape the jobs, apprenticeships and supply chains our town depends on, including ours. This piece by our Director, Ibrar Syed, sets out why those businesses need a stronger voice in national policy.

When a manufacturer considers where to make its next investment, the consequences reach well beyond its factory gates. They affect employees, apprentices, suppliers and the families whose livelihoods depend on a strong local economy.

That is why I support Burnley Bondholders Chair Neil Evans’s call for government to spend more time listening to businesses in towns like ours.

His response to the concerns raised by Panaz founder Tony Attard asks an important question: are we giving established businesses enough confidence to keep investing here?

From my perspective as Director of TheWorkwear, that discussion matters to smaller businesses too. Branded workwear sits within the everyday supply chain that helps other businesses operate. A stronger local industrial economy creates opportunities across a much wider business community.

Manufacturing’s value extends beyond the production line

Harvard Business School professors Gary Pisano and Willy Shih describe how manufacturing depends on a shared network of skills, suppliers and technical knowledge. Their work, focused on the United States, argues that allowing production capabilities to erode can also weaken the ability to innovate. The lesson I take for Burnley is that industrial knowledge takes years to build and deserves attention before it is lost. [1]

Cambridge’s UK Innovation Report 2025 reports that the UK’s share of global manufacturing value added fell from 3.1% in 2000 to 1.9% in 2022. That is a decline in global share, rather than proof that UK production fell in absolute terms, but it shows how much the competitive landscape has changed. [2]

We cannot assume that businesses rooted here today will automatically choose to make their next investment here.

Confidence has practical consequences

Buying machinery, expanding premises or taking on an apprentice means committing money now for a return that may take years.

An Oxford University economics working paper by James Malcomson models how uncertainty can reduce long-term investment and productivity where businesses rely on continuing commercial relationships. It is a theoretical explanation, rather than a measurement of Burnley’s economy, but it helps explain why predictability matters. [3]

The CBI’s September 2026 Room to Grow report identifies the combined effects of labour, energy, regulatory and tax costs as constraints on firms’ capacity to invest and recruit. Those costs have to be considered together because businesses pay them together. [4]

For family-owned manufacturers making decisions across generations, a credible long-term policy direction is particularly important.

What would meaningful engagement look like?

Supporting Neil’s position does not mean every business request should automatically become government policy. It means policymakers should understand how their decisions affect investment, employment and succession in real businesses.

Listen before decisions are finalised. Include established manufacturers and smaller suppliers, with clear feedback on how their evidence influenced policy.
Make workforce development a shared responsibility. Connect employers, colleges and community organisations so recruitment needs translate into accessible training and realistic routes into work.
Turn local relationships into commercial opportunities. Give capable local suppliers a fair opportunity to compete, pay them promptly and build relationships that support dependable service.

At TheWorkwear, this is the conversation we want to contribute to: how local businesses can help one another become stronger, while asking government for conditions that support responsible growth. Burnley Bondholders can bring these experiences together and give policymakers a clearer picture of investment decisions on the ground.

What one change would give your business the confidence to invest, recruit or expand over the next 12 months? And what could we do together locally while pressing for that change?

Working with local businesses

TheWorkwear supplies embroidered workwear and uniforms to manufacturers, trades and organisations across Burnley and East Lancashire. If you would like to talk about kitting out your team, request a free quote or get in touch.