After decades of a massive decline in the British manufacturing base we are rapidly approaching the crossroads where we will be forced to decide whether we are willing or able to effectively compete in the production marketplace.

There are five million fewer manufacturing jobs than there were in 1950 compared with an extra eight million service jobs.

During the 1980s recession manufacturing output fell by 18 per cent and in the early 1990s there was a further seven per cent decline.

It is accurate to say that Margaret Thatcher’s government did more damage to British industry than Hitler's Second World War bombing campaign but the uncomfortable truth for me is that the decline is continuing under my own Labour government.

Regardless of who is to blame we must act quickly with a strategy for manufacturing which has sufficient resources to make a real difference.

For my part I firmly believe that there is a strong case for Britain to have a healthy manufacturing base because it occurs to me that a country that doesn’t actually make things cannot hope to remain at the forefront of the worlds economies in the longer term.

Unlike most of our EU partners we have a major deficit in manufacturing trade, £40 billion for example in 2003.

Research, development and innovation will reduce to insignificance without a serious commitment to manufacturing, because virtually all our R&D is funded by the manufacturing sector.

Of course the future will only be guaranteed through improved productivity and greater competitiveness but there is a vital need for the government to roll up its sleeves and defend what we have left, with defence industries the perfect place to start.

For example what other European country would think for a second about allowing a French company to build their future aircraft carriers, other than France of course who would certainly consider no one else.

Who else would almost give the Italians the contract to build a trainer aircraft when we have a world beater in the Hawk Trainer?

We must stay successful in the defence and aerospace business in order to protect our core skills because if we can’t we are unlikely to compete elsewhere.

We are proud as a nation to say that we always play the game but if we are to stay in the match and win then we must add a little steel, determination and team spirit to the game plan.

David Crausby is Labour MP for Bolton North East.