When it comes to the future of our country, sometimes the public debate can give the impression that we face a choice between sectors.
Manufacturing against services; production pitted against professional expertise. These things are often presented as competing priorities, the implication being that backing one means the other loses out.
But that is not how the modern British economy works. They are two sides of the same coin. Industries like manufacturing, construction and energy do not operate in isolation. Their success relies on finance, engineering, logistics and professional services working alongside them.
Growth is driven not by choosing one part of the economy over the other but through ensuring they work together seamlessly. Britain is fortunate in having one of the world’s leading consulting sectors helping businesses and industries drive growth, productivity, digital innovation and jobs.
Looking at the finalists of this year’s MCA Awards, we can see what this interconnectedness looks like in practice. Take Tideway, the Thames super sewer that will serve London’s growing population for decades to come. As one of the UK’s largest infrastructure programmes, Tideway is committed to delivering wider benefits to the society it serves.
As such, the project brought in Jacobs consultancy firm to help achieve that ambition and develop programmes that will provide skills, education and job opportunities for Londoners – a positive legacy that the infrastructure ecosystem could not have delivered without the services sector being involved.
British firm Sylatech, a metals and microwave manufacturer based in North Yorkshire, supplies global markets and was growing so fast that production was unable to keep up with demand.
SME consultancy Sharing in Growth came along with a plan to reduce waste, remove bottlenecks and resolve problems quickly. The result was impressive: 99.5 per cent of components were correct the first time, and the company was put firmly on a growth trajectory, serving sectors from aerospace to medicines.
All these finalists demonstrate a truth we recognise in consulting: behind almost everything we produce is a set of services that are less visible but just as vital. In fact, it is the financing, regulating, managing, refining and selling that make that production possible.
The government grasps this intrinsic link and the power of a well-balanced economy. As mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham oversaw an economic revival powered as much by knowledge-intensive sectors as physical production. Manchester is, in fact, the largest UK professional services hub outside London.
Therefore, when the Prime Minister talks today about reindustrialisation, firms including our own members are front of mind. As he put it: “I want more world-beating British manufacturers and service providers at the frontier of new technology and exporting to the world.”
This builds on Labour’s recognition in the party’s Industrial Strategy that professional services are a strategic national strength. The challenge now is not simply to acknowledge that strength but also to champion it, both at home and in the international sphere. After all, the UK is a professional services powerhouse, supporting our own manufacturing base as well as those globally.
Across the world, businesses hire British lawyers to structure complex transactions, British engineers to design major infrastructure, British financial institutions to support investment and British consultants to help organisations transform and grow.
Consulting alone recorded export growth of 9 per cent in a single year, outperforming both the wider services sector and the economy as a whole.
We’re supporting global growth, including so many of the sectors that enable that growth – logistics and transport, for example. We help make it more productive, more innovative and more globally competitive.
The impact can be seen internationally as well as at home. MCA Awards finalist Inchcape Shipping Services had grown into one of the world’s largest maritime service providers, coordinating vessels, ports and trade across more than 60 countries. Yet years of expansion had left processes fragmented and outdated. Enfuse Group helped digitise operations, improving efficiency, reducing risk and creating a stronger platform for future growth.
When Sydney Airport came under new ownership, Curzon Consulting supported a major transformation of procurement and supply-chain operations. Delivering change in a high-profile, 24-hour operational environment required expertise that complemented, rather than replaced, the airport’s own capabilities.
This interconnectedness will become even more important as the economy adapts to new norms in the age of artificial intelligence.
Britain has the digital talent to develop cutting-edge technologies and create world-leading products. But technological breakthroughs only generate value when organisations know how to implement them effectively. That means redesigning processes, updating systems, managing risk and training people with new skills. The challenge is not simply inventing new technologies; it is embedding them successfully across businesses.
This is the role that UK consulting is playing both at home and abroad. It is one of Britain’s great strengths; we should own it and celebrate it, moving away from a false dichotomy which fails to tell the full story of our modern economy and Britain’s potential.
We don’t just make things; we make things happen. That should be a source of national pride.
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