The head of a family-owned company that has made specialist wires and cables for six generations for clients ranging from naval vessels to film sets has blamed Brexit for shredding its business. Mark Ormiston, the owner of Ormiston Wire, said small businesses such as his had been flushed “down the toilet” by the masterminds of Brexit who gave little thought to the real-life consequences for UK manufacturing. The London-based company’s exports to the EU have halved since Britain left the EU, with the loss of the European market a huge blow for a small company with revenues of £1.5m and limited growth prospects at home. Make UK, the manufacturers’ trade body, said figures showed the number of products being exported to the EU had been reduced by 80%, with small- and medium-sized businesses worst hit. “Our exports have literally halved. We were making efforts to actually get more exports in Europe because British manufacturing was going down the toilet, which it has done now,” said Ormiston. With Keir Starmer vowing to reset relations with the EU, Ormiston implored the new prime minister to consider the smaller firms who do not have access to the Treasury or Labour party conference to make their voices heard. His message to Starmer was: “Don’t forget the very large number of small British manufacturing companies who lead in design, ideas and enthusiasm when it comes to bringing new products to market.”
He added: “Make UK are the big guys, the British Aerospaces, the big manufacturers and organisations like the CBI [Confederation of British Industry]. We are irrelevant to them. But if you multiply me by a million little companies doing these little things, it does add up to a significant amount of British exports. “It’s consequences, isn’t it? When politicians have a great idea, they don’t live with the consequences so they don’t care. By the time it all kicks in they are dead or in the House of Lords.” Government insiders say they are determined to tear down as many barriers to trade caused by Brexit but with Starmer ruling out rejoining the single market and customs union the impact will be limited. A report published in August by the House of Commons library showed that UK goods exports to the EU had not recovered to pre-Brexit levels. Exports to the bloc exceeded £170bn in 2017, 2018 and 2019 but have not done so in any calendar years since and were £153bn in 2023. A government spokesperson said: “We are working to reset the relationship with our European friends to tackle barriers to trade.” • This article was amended on 7 September 2024. Owing to a typographical error, an earlier version said UK exports to the EU in 2023 totalled £153m, when £153bn was meant. The figure is adjusted for inflation at 2019 prices.