The words ‘only in America’ seem to come to mind when I mention that Donald Trump is currently the favourite to be named the Republican party’s presidential candidate, with second-place contender Ted Cruz trailing some distance behind. The idea that this guy could become president is, for many, a sobering thought. However, could his policy ideas be used to help British manufacturing?

It would be easy to dismiss the gaff-prone billionaire as a mere buffoon but, with the potential of him becoming the leader of the worlds largest super-power fast becoming a real possibility, should we be asking ourselves if there is anything of actual merit amongst his often controversial outpourings?

Trump recently spoke at, the ironically named Liberty university, and suggested that when he became president it would be within his power to force Apple (and presumably other US manufacturers) to produce their products in the US. This would be achieved by imposing a 35 per cent tax on American companies who outsource their manufacturing overseas – an increase on the 15 per cent outsourcing tax he proposed in his 2011 book, Time to Get Tough.

It is all too easy to dismiss anything Trump says as the maddness of a man too invested in his own ego but this latest comment piqued my interest. This is because the concept of strenuously taxing firms that manufacture overseas, or otherwise legislating them, into producing domestically, is a view echoed by many in the UK who feel it is a realistic option to save British manufacturing.

What do you think? Is such a radical move likly to help or hinder our manufacturing sector?

Use the poll below and comment to join the discussion.

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Did you know that Staffordshire is now in Cornwall? Well, this is what the US firm that own the Sharp’s brewery think when they bottle their best selling Doom Bar ale.

The BBC are reporting that the popular tipple Doom Bar, famous for being brewed in Rock, Cornwall is actually being produced in Burton-upon-Trent, over 250 miles away. All of this despite the message ‘Rock, Cornwall’ being emblazoned on the bottles in no less than 7 places.

Sharp’s, however, are quick to state that while bottled Doom Bar is indeed made in Stafford the majority, about 80%, is still produced in Rock.

Have your say:

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The interweb is awash with peoples views of the best British made cars without any real consensus. We have taken into account all of the online reviews, extrapolated the results using a super-computer and compiled the following list for you to make the final choice through a democratic process.

The list includes cars made in the UK past and present. Lets see which you think is the best.

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A report released last month by the  Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has suggested that the British motor industry, almost unanimously, wants the UK to remain in the EU.

The report states that 92% of car manufacturers in the UK want to stay in the EU and only 3% want to leave. My maths is not great but this suggest that there is also 5% that don’t give a damn. Anyway, in addition, 70% said that leaving the EU would have a negative or very negative impact on their business.

As the vast majority of the UK motor industry is foreign owned the net result of this report should likely be read as a warning from industry that any change to the current status quo is going to force them to reconsider their options in the region.  I recall an interview with the head of Nissan late last year who basically said just that.

With over  third of all vehicles built in the UK sold in Europe and many parts being imported from the continent, there are the obvious economic  reasons why the motor industry is keen to continue benefiting from the tax advantages of the UK being part of the EU.  In an article on the subject in the Huffington post Vince Cable is not sitting on the fence on the subject, by stating “No one can plausibly be in favour of the rebalancing the British economy, boosting exports and supporting sustainable growth while being in favour of leaving the EU.”

Does this news influence your opinions over the UK’s future in Europe? Let us know what you think… because quite frankly we are torn!

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Take a second to enter our poll or be more verbal by adding a comment below (keep it clean though).

The NFU has recently published their findings about UK supermarkets’ commitment to stock British produce and the results my surprise you.

All of the major supermarkets have been quick to jump on the buy British bandwagon and promote their credentials as supporting homegrown but do the facts live up to the hype? In some cases it would appear not.

The chart below shows, at a glance, those supermarkets that have a commitment to stock 100% British across 6 main categories.

Morrisons  lead the table stocking 100% British across each of the 6 sectors. This somewhat reflects the results of our own poll, which also gives much credit to Waitrose’s effort to support British produce (link here).

Make of these results what you will, but a recent YouGov survey showed that 79% of British people think British supermarkets should sell more food produced on British farms. So, unfortunately it seems that our two largest supermarkets, Tesco & Asda, seem to the failing to listen to what their customers want.

As part of the British Family Fayre this year (www.britishfamilyfayre.co.uk) we are organising a beer festival to quench the thirst of our expected 8,000 revellers. The only issue is, with now more than 1000 breweries in Britain to choose from we need your help to decide which breweries to stock on the day.

We have listed 20 of our favourites below but would love to know what your preferred tipple is. We will then try to get your ‘usual’ at our event on the 3oth August 2014.

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If your favourite is not listed in out poll then please leave us a comment with your recommendations!

The UKTI and MAS have joined forces to launch a new service that aims to help companies bring production back to the UK. Called Reshore UK will provide a matching and location service, access to advice and support and a named individual to help each company.

More information is here>>>

In a previous poll nearly 50% of our readers felt that the UK goverment was doing nothing to help British manufacturing. Do you now have to eat your words or is this still a little too late? Have your say….

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Remember… you can add your comments below. Mr Cable may even read them, so keep it clean!

We have said all along that our project to promote British industry is not one motivated by politics, and that is still the case. However, there is obviously a big elephant in the room every time the idea of British manufacturing is bought up – What is the government really doing to help?

We obviously have our own thoughts on the subject but it would be unfair to discuss those without getting your views first. So here is your chance to have your say:

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Something that we have an increased consciousness of, as part of our challenge to buying only British, is the ethics of the goods that we buy. The news images of the collapsed buildings in Bangladesh and the horse meat scandal have recently bought renewed prominence to the ethics of some imports into this country. Such news echos the terrible images of small children stitching Nike trainers or FIFA approved World Cup footballs in the 1980′. But 30 years on we had perhaps assumed that things had changed, but perhaps not.

One specific business with possibly the worse reputation is Nestlé – commonly known as the most evil company in the world. This is generally because of their long held policies with the promotion of milk formula in 3rd world countries, but they also have a consistent track record of considering profits above humanity going back decades. Their rap sheep is certainly a long one, see here for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9#Controversy_and_criticism

So, it is no surprise that there have been boycotts against this Swiss owned business going on nearly 40 years. However, when you check out the number of brands they own you would be surprised at how many well known, and much loved, products are owned by Nestlé. See here: http://babymilkaction.org/nestleboycottlist. One of the surprises on this list is ethical British brand The Body Shop.

Anyway, does anyone still boycott Nestle or are we happy to forgive and forget?

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