Industrial revival or sweatshop UK?

UK manufacturing costs now rival those in Eastern Europe, but low-paid workers may not join the celebrations

A technician at work on a factory production line
(Image credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Britain is now the 'lowest-cost manufacturing economy of Western Europe', according to a report by one of the world's leading consultancy groups, but analysts are split on whether that's entirely good news.

The combination of stable wages and improved productivity over the past ten years has made Britain "increasingly competitive even compared to many Eastern European countries", the Daily Telegraph says, but this competitiveness has brought with it lower wages, broad restructuring of existing businesses and a diversification of manufacturing, which many experts believe could present unforeseen dangers.

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