IN reply to MJ Warner (SA 26 July) there was a very steep decline in manufacturing output under New Labour. Manufacturing was 18 per cent of GDP in 1997 when New Labour came to power.

Thirteen years later it had dropped to 10 per cent of GDP by the time of the General Election in 2010. Never before in our history had there been such a decline of this nature. The decline even beat what happened under Margaret Thatcher who closed many of the coal mines.

It is the stated aim of all political parties in Britain to rebalance the economy towards manufacturing in the hope of reducing our trade deficit. The problem is that under the rules of the EU Single Market Treaty, it is illegal for our government to support and encourage British home grown industry.

Steve Halden, Beaufort Green, Swindon