Autumn Budget 2026: A Budget to turbocharge UK reindustrialisation
18.09.2026
The Autumn Budget must turn the Government’s ambition for reindustrialisation into action, making the UK a more competitive place to manufacture, invest and create skilled jobs.
High energy costs, skills shortages, rising employer costs and a tougher investment climate are holding manufacturers back. This Budget is the chance to give firms the confidence and conditions they need to grow.
Make UK's priorities focus on building business confidence, reducing the cost of doing business, and developing the next generation of manufacturing talent.
Make UK's five Budget actions
Expand the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) to all manufacturers and bring forward implementation.
Industrial energy costs remain far higher than in competitor nations. Reducing these costs would improve competitiveness, unlock investment and support growth.
Make UK also wants the Government to remove policy levies from electricity bills and fund them through general taxation, helping create the lower-cost energy system manufacturers need to invest and electrify.
Increase Business Rates Transitional Relief to 100% for manufacturers in 2026/27 and increase the Employer NICs threshold from £5,000 to £7,500.
High fixed costs are constraining investment and growth, while business rates continue to penalise firms that invest in productive assets.
Lower employment costs and greater transitional relief would give manufacturers immediate breathing space to recruit, retain staff and invest.
Longer term, business rates reform must encourage investment, expansion and productivity improvements.
Increase the maximum apprenticeship funding band to £35,000 and prioritise advanced manufacturing occupations on the Temporary Shortage List for urgent funding band review.
Skills shortages remain one of the biggest barriers to growth. Higher apprenticeship funding bands would better reflect the cost of training for high-value manufacturing roles and help more young people enter the sector.
Expand Made Smarter to include AI adoption and energy efficiency.
AI and energy efficiency can drive productivity and competitiveness, but many manufacturers need support to move from pilots to wider adoption.
Expanding Made Smarter would help more businesses adopt new technologies, improve productivity and reduce energy use across the UK.
The Government should ensure taxation, investment and public spending all support the UK's manufacturing base.
That means reforming business rates so firms are not penalised for investing in buildings, plant and machinery, and using public procurement more strategically to recognise the wider economic value UK manufacturers create through skilled jobs, local investment and strong supply chains.
Reindustrialisation needs action
The Government's Industrial Strategy provides an important foundation, but manufacturers need long-term stability alongside practical measures that improve competitiveness now.
The Autumn Budget is the first real test of the Government's reindustrialisation agenda.
The opportunity is clear: reduce the costs holding manufacturers back, unlock investment and give businesses the confidence to hire, innovate and grow.
Reindustrialisation should not just be an ambition. This Budget must help make it happen.