Midland manufacturing bosses have welcomed a Labour Party initiative to revitalize UK supply chains – spearheaded by Jaguar Land Rover executive director Mike Wright.

Labour has commissioned the JLR executive to produce a comprehensive review of Britain’s manufacturing supply chains to help transform the fortunes of the sector in the long term. Areas of research include developing advanced skills and access to finance as well as boosting productivity in the sector.

Chuka Umunna, Shadow Business Secretary, said ahead of this week’s Labour Party conference: “Take the automotive sector, which is obviously JLR’s area of expertise, we are fantastic at assembly and exporting the cars here in the UK.

“But we aren’t as good at manufacturing all the parts because we haven’t sufficiently developed our supply chain. Too many of the parts are coming from abroad. So we’ve commissioned Mike to look into our supply chain and ensure that we’ve got the right environment to develop it.

“That will include the particular problems suppliers have in accessing finance, the productivity in the sector, and how we can make sure people have got the skills that are needed.”

Richard Halstead, Midlands Region Director of manufacturers’ organisation EEF, said: “This is a welcome announcement which reflects the urgent need to strengthen and support our supply chains, which are critical to long-term economic and industrial growth.

"Supply chain capacity and the skills within is not just a factor in supporting the companies that are already here but it is a major factor which also influences key inward investment decisions from major companies overseas. Industry will welcome the fact that supply chains are now recognised as a key priority for industrial strategy by both government and opposition.”