Britain’s next major infrastructure project must showcase South Yorkshire’s manufacturing skills: David Richards
The irony was not lost on anyone in the room. Professor Keith Ridgway, a titan of British manufacturing innovation, stood before us at the Digital Forge event on transforming manufacturing, explaining that at the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm – the largest in England and Wales – it is likely the only British–made components were the coffee and sandwiches.
A £400 million installation powering 15 per cent of Welsh homes, and yet virtually every turbine component was manufactured overseas.
These revelations crystallise the scale of Britain’s industrial decline and the vast opportunity before us. When we import flat–packed trains from Japan for assembly in the UK rather than building them ourselves, we’re not just losing manufacturing jobs – we’re surrendering our industrial sovereignty.
I was fortunate enough last week to attend two significant events: The Digital Forge’s thought-provoking debate on the future of manufacturing by the application of technology, and the inaugural meeting of the South Yorkshire Regional Defence & Security Cluster. The timing of these debates could not have been more opportune, as they represent the burning issue for our nation: will Britain re-engage in its manufacturing heritage, or continue its precarious dependency on foreign production?
At the Defence & Security Cluster meeting, Bruce Katz, co–founder of New Localism Advisors and former Centennial Scholar at the Brookings Institution, gave a compelling case study of America’s reindustrialisation strategy. The United States has pursued an integrated plan backed by bipartisan support over the past decade in declaring manufacturing capability a key pillar of national security and economic resilience.
Looking beyond the political theatre of tariffs and trade disputes, America’s policies reveal a methodical approach to onshoring critical manufacturing capabilities. This isn’t economic protectionism – it’s strategic vision in a more fragmented world.
Importantly, America’s reindustrialisation isn’t directed from Washington. Instead, it is built on place–based initiatives that spark regional manufacturing ecosystems with the recognition that industrial expertise emanates from clusters of knowledge, talent, and infrastructure.
Britain has a stark choice. We can persist with the botched strategy of deindustrialisation that began in the 1980s, or we can open the door to a manufacturing renaissance. The price of present course is clear, in decimated communities, hollowed–out supply chains, and the national vulnerability exposed during the pandemic.
Defence and security manufacturing offers our ideal launchpad—where national security imperatives align perfectly with economic opportunity. From this foundation, we can expand into energy, transport, and beyond.
Reindustrialisation must transcend political fashion. It’s time to ensure Britain’s next major infrastructure project showcases South Yorkshire’s manufacturing skills in every component—not just the coffee and sandwiches. The path from vulnerability to sovereign capability runs directly through our region, and the time to forge it is now.
David Richards is a philanthropist and a global technology entrepreneur