Is the honeymoon over?

For members of one great British institution the honeymoon begins. But for another the celebrations look to be over. While Wills and Kate top up their sun tans this month, manufacturers could be reaching for the cagoules. After months of pointing towards a fine outlook, industry barometer the PMI Index has warned of an unsettled spell for British industry. New orders are running dry, domestic demand is sluggish and input prices stand at record highs. Booming export business is propping up manufacturing but even that couldn't prevent the PMI hitting a seven-month low. On current form the sector's growth could soon stagnate for the first time in two years. Warnings of a spike in industrial unrest from Britain's biggest union (p7) only serve to blacken the mood further. But the gathering storm could yet prove the making of UK manufacturing. The government has been gushing over manufacturing while PMI rides high. Ministers celebrate manufacturing growth as irrefutable evidence of some concerted plan to rebalance the UK economy. All the while the coalition adopts largely the same laissez-faire policy as previous administrations. But as long as the boom continues, nobody spots the bluff. It's a textbook illusion worthy of entry to the Magic Circle. However, a downturn in manufacturing fortunes would force the government to offer something more substantial than lip service to the sector. Almost 70% of manufacturers say the historic absence of such hands-on help from Westminster is to blame for the industry's steady decline, according to WM research published this month (p8). Looking down respondents' wish lists doesn't reveal anything revolutionary. Better access to skilled staff, friendlier employment law and improved access to finance. If rebalancing is to become reality then we must see more tangible support across these core areas. That's the overriding message to Chris White, the head of a new parliamentary group for manufacturing, who has this month urged WM readers to tell him their top concerns (p10).