Kevin McKeever Calls for Urgent Action on UK Manufacturing and Public Procurement at Manchester Made & Regions

Garment & Textiles Workers Trust Chair highlights 14,000 lost garment jobs since 2020 and calls for public spending to support British factories, skills and employment.

Kevin McKeever, Chair of the Garment & Textiles Workers Trust and CEO of Lowick Hendry, delivered a powerful opening address at Manchester Made & Regions 4th November, calling for urgent action to ensure UK public procurement supports British garment and textile manufacturers. His address put the spotlight on one of the most pressing challenges facing the industry: the loss of domestic manufacturing jobs while significant public contracts for clothing and uniforms continue to be awarded overseas.

The message was clear. Public money should create opportunities for British businesses, protect skilled employment and strengthen the UK’s manufacturing supply chain.

Kevin highlighted the scale of the problem: “14,000 garment jobs have gone since 2020. Behind that number lost shifts, lost wages and communities, many of them built around the industry. What makes it harder to accept is that a lot of this work is paid for with public money, money that is currently going abroad. MP’s heard this year that 6% of our military uniforms are made in the UK, meanwhile an 80 million pound army clothing budget and 125 million pound NHS uniform framework are going overseas. That’s British money funding foreign jobs whilst people loose their jobs here at home.”

These figures underline why public procurement is such an important issue for the future of British fashion and textiles. The UK has factories, experienced manufacturers and skilled workers capable of producing quality garments, but businesses need a sustainable pipeline of orders to retain employees, invest in training and maintain production capacity.

Unlocking public procurement for British factories

The Garment & Textiles Workers Trust funded the Unlocking Public Procurement report, an in-depth piece of research examining how government purchasing could better support UK manufacturing. Importantly, the research demonstrates that domestic manufacturing capacity exists and that factories are ready to participate.

Kevin explained: “That’s why the trust funded unlocking public procurement, it shows the factories are ready, 20 in Leicester have already gone through a consortium and passed their audits. It shows the law already lets the government buy British.”

The campaign is now calling for three practical measures: “Change the rules so public buyers can count UK manufacturing as social value, set targets for UK made uniforms, and prove it works crucially with a pilot contract.”

Recognising UK manufacturing as social value would allow public buyers to consider the wider benefits of domestic production, including employment, skills, regional investment and supply chain resilience. A pilot contract would be a crucial opportunity to demonstrate how British factories can deliver and how public procurement can generate tangible economic benefits at home.

Watch Kevin’s address here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBHqqfwm1_o

Nine months of industry collaboration

The report represents nine months of dedicated work led by the Apparel & Textile Manufacturers Federation (ATMF), bringing together Fashion-Enter Ltd, De Montfort University and Alix Coombes, Strategic Consultant at Fashion Roundtable. The consortium has worked to create a stronger, unified industry voice around public procurement, combining manufacturing experience, academic expertise and policy knowledge.

Jenny Holloway welcomed Kevin’s contribution at Manchester Made & Regions and paid tribute to everyone involved in delivering the research.

She commented: “This has been a very detailed but rewarding piece of work and one that I have thoroughly enjoyed working on with such esteemed partners. Special thanks to Alix Coombes, Carolyn Hardaker, Beth Davy Day, Callum Holloway and Divya Kamath, along with Katherine O’Driscoll for all their amazing hard work.

“A special thanks to Kevin and Cheryl Chung who have kept us to plan and probed hard on matters. I’m deeply proud of the resulting report and all I personally care about is a resulting order for a public procurement contract for the factories of the UK.

“More to follow!”

The report is currently undergoing independent review by a third body and is expected to be launched imminently.

Alix Coombes reinforces the importance of policy and industry collaboration

Following Kevin’s opening address, Alix Coombes, Strategic Consultant at Fashion Roundtable, shared further insights into the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of UK fashion and textile manufacturing. Her contribution reinforced the importance of connecting manufacturers, policymakers and industry organisations to develop meaningful support for British production.

Watch Alix speak about the report here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_ZmIgzKUFA&t=23s

A future built on British skills, jobs and manufacturing

The importance of this initiative extends well beyond garment factories. A stronger domestic manufacturing sector means more opportunities for skilled employment, apprenticeships, workforce development and investment in future generations.

It also means retaining valuable manufacturing expertise, supporting regional economies and building more resilient supply chains.

Kevin acknowledged the organisations and individuals who have worked together to move the campaign forward: “I want to thank Jenny (Holloway) and the ATMF, Fashion-Enter Ltd, De Montfort University, Fashion Roundtable and the brilliant Alix (Coombes) who has done the work on the report. We are going to share the report in due course, as soon as it’s published, in the meantime we wanted to update you on its findings and to join us in our journey to unlock public procurement.”

The challenge now is to turn research and recommendations into real opportunities for UK manufacturers. Manchester Made & Regions provided an important platform to highlight the issue, recognise the considerable work undertaken by all involved and encourage the wider industry to support the campaign. The ambition is straightforward but significant: secure public procurement contracts for British factories, protect jobs, invest in skills and ensure that public spending contributes to the future prosperity of the UK fashion and textile industry.

Supporting British manufacturing is an investment in people, communities, skills and the UK’s economic future.

Top image: Jenny Holloway at Manchester Made & Regions 2026 by Tobie Charlton