Britain ‘faces deindustrialisation’ without relief from high energy prices, survey warns

Make UK’s survey found a quarter of Britain’s manufacturing companies either planned to move their production overseas or had already done so. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

Britain’s industrial sector is at risk of collapse as thousands of companies warn that they could face bankruptcy within the next year because of high energy prices, according to an industry survey.

The manufacturers’ body Make UK said the latest feedback from its members found that many would not be able to cope for much longer with energy costs that were twice the average in continental Europe and four times higher than in the US.