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UK Manufacturing

Not for the moment, as I am only one sentence into my speech. Since the time of the industrial revolution when we were dubbed "the workshop of the world", manufacturing has helped the UK to punch above its weight, and one of my principal points today is to counter the impression that we are not still a country that excels at making things; we most certainly are, but where once we led the way as producers of iron, coal and cotton, we are now blazing a trail in new areas such as robotics, software, new technology and advanced manufacturing.