Johnathan Dudley, head of UK manufacturing business for the Crowe Clark Whitehill accountancy firm, has said that the West Midlands manufacturing sector is in ‘rude good health’.

He said: “I think we sometimes need to remind ourselves in the West Midlands that the glass is half full, rather than half empty. Our resilience is based not just on the success of Tata turning Jaguar Land Rover into the remarkable success it is, but on a far deeper economic base.

“Although some of the more ‘sexy’ service industries often make the headlines, the penny has finally dropped in Whitehall that manufacturing is still the engine room of the economy.

“Whatever the result of the General Election, those in power will want to see the economic upturn fostered and supported.”