Bryan Gould: Lowering the exchange rate

06/29/23 • 23 min

Joining us all the way from New Zealand is former Member of Parliament and member of the Labour Party’s Shadow Cabinet, Bryan Gould. The exchange rate has been a contentious economic issue for decades and has been argued to affect the manufacturing sector significantly. Bryan and Brendan discuss the state of the sector, the balance of payments problem, and weigh up the UK against other economies including China and Japan.

Previous Episode

Emma Lewell Buck: Education & Skills

This month we are joined by Emma Lewell-Buck, MP for South Shields, to discuss the main issues with the state of the UK's manufacturing sector. Education is at the core of fixing the problem, and as it stands, there is not enough talk of the sector as a viable career option, and children are not being equipped with the practical skills needed. This episode touches on green energy as the future of manufacturing, the cost-of-living crisis, and the lack of willingness from government to commit to the sector.

Next Episode

Bim Afolami: The importance of community

For this episode, we took to Parliament to meet with MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, Bim Afolami. Delving right into the heart of the sector, Brendan and Bim discuss why community is so important for manufacturing and how the people and places have always been so tightly connected. They also discuss the more technical side of the issues at hand, including how the sector can provide the workers needed for new green jobs, and how we can incentivise more long-term equity finance for British manufacturing.

Talking Manufacturing - Bryan Gould: Lowering the exchange rate

Transcript

Brendan (BC): Hello and welcome to the JMI Podcast. My name is Brendan Chilton and I'm the director of the John Mills Institute for Prosperity, and in this series, we're going to be discussing the issues at the heart of the Institute, working through each of our manifesto pledges and inviting guests to bring their unique perspective on the place manufacturing takes in the UK economy, and in our society as a whole.

So, today we'll be delving into another issue facing the