The Business podcast: The future of British manufacturing

Britain was once known as the " workshop of the world ". Now it makes less than it consumes and manufacturing makes up little more than 12% of GDP. That position is unsustainable, according to a wide range of business leaders and politicians - including David Cameron. He used his first major speech as prime minister in 2010 to call for a "rebalancing" of the economy. But what does this mean? Does Britain need a complete rethink of industrial policy ? Can the UK ever hope to compete with highly efficient and low-wage manufacturing regions in China? To discuss this we have in the studio: Sir Alan Rudge , chairman of the Era Foundation ; Gregg McClymont , Labour MP for Cumbernauld; Sukhdev Johal , author of Rebalancing the Economy (or Buyer's Remorse) ; and Heather Stewart , the Observer's economics editor. Leave your thoughts below. • The Cresc team will be speaking at a Commons debate on Thursday evening, "How shall we rebuild the British economy?" Entry is free but registration is vital ( [email protected] ).