Britain’s construction supply chain has warned that the government risks undermining its own ambitions to revive manufacturing and accelerate housebuilding unless it restores business confidence and provides greater certainty over investment.
In an open letter to Chancellor John Healey, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) said falling demand for key construction materials had left the industry unwilling to invest in new capacity, threatening the foundations of Labour’s plans to build 1.5 million homes and re-industrialise the economy.
The warning follows fresh data showing ready-mixed concrete sales fell 9.3 per cent in the year to June, while mortar sales—a closely watched indicator of new housing starts—declined 5.1 per cent.
Paul Adeleke, the MPA’s chief executive, said domestic cement production had fallen to levels last seen in the 1950s, while ready-mixed concrete sales had retreated to volumes not recorded since the 1960s.
He warned that prolonged weakness was already eroding industrial capacity.
“Plants are being mothballed, drivers are being taken off the road as trucks sit idle and skilled people are being made redundant,” he said, adding that there was “currently zero confidence to invest in people, sites or equipment”.
The downturn has been particularly acute in London, where ready-mixed concrete sales have fallen 27 per cent over the past year and remain more than half below 2022 levels, reflecting weak demand from both residential and commercial construction.
The association argues that rising energy costs, planning delays, regulatory burdens and economic uncertainty continue to suppress private investment, even as major infrastructure projects such as HS2, Sizewell and offshore wind developments provide pockets of resilience.
The industry is also concerned that recent cancellations of road projects and uncertainty ahead of the autumn Budget could further weaken confidence.
The warning presents an early test for Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s industrial strategy. While ministers have pledged to revive domestic manufacturing and expand housing supply, suppliers argue that ambitions alone will not reverse years of declining demand.
Without a sustained pipeline of housing and infrastructure projects, the MPA says Britain risks losing the industrial capacity needed to deliver its long-term economic objectives.