Petition launched as Staffordshire ceramics industry misses out on energy support

Staffordshire’s ceramics industry has been left out again.

At a time when the Government is announcing fresh energy support for parts of British manufacturing, ceramics leaders are warning that one of this country’s most important industrial sectors is still not getting the help it desperately needs. That should matter to everyone in Staffordshire, because this is not some distant policy row happening elsewhere. This is about the future of an industry rooted in our towns, our communities and our identity, and once again it feels like ceramics is being praised in words while passed over in practice.

The latest petition calling for support has already gathered more than 17,000 signatures (at the time of writing) and passed the 10,000 mark needed for a formal government response. It is now pushing towards the 100,000 signatures required to be considered for a debate in Parliament. It was launched to demand that ceramics be properly included in energy intensive industry relief through the Supercharger scheme, with campaigners warning that without urgent intervention more businesses could be pushed towards collapse.

Petition: Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills

Apply energy intensive industry relief (Supercharger scheme) to the ceramics industry to help cut soaring industrial energy costs & support ceramics businesses, which are at the risk of imminent collapse without urgent intervention, as seen with Denby Pottery registering for administration support.

Petitions - UK Government and Parliament

And let us be clear, this is not just about teacups and plates.

Yes, ceramics is part of our heritage. Yes, it is tied to the famous names, the bottle ovens, the tableware and the craftsmanship that Staffordshire is known for across the world. But modern ceramics is also a major manufacturing sector that supplies vital products and components for construction, healthcare, aerospace and defence. When ministers fail to support ceramics, they are not just turning their backs on tradition. They are failing to back a strategically important industry that still matters hugely to Britain’s future.

The Government has announced that more than 10,000 businesses will benefit from the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme, which aims to reduce electricity bills for eligible firms by up to 25 per cent. On paper, that sounds like welcome support for manufacturing. The problem is that the ceramics sector says the help still misses the point, because ceramics production depends so heavily on gas, not just electricity.

That distinction matters. Ceramics UK says around 86 per cent of the sector’s energy use is gas, because firing kilns at the temperatures required for production cannot simply be swapped over with the flick of a switch. So while ministers talk about helping industry with electricity costs, ceramic manufacturers are still exposed where it hurts most. For Staffordshire, where ceramics is both a cultural cornerstone and a serious employer, that is not a technicality. It is a real and immediate threat.

Rob Flello, chief executive of Ceramics UK, has said the sector has heard “warm words” from Government time and again about the heritage, skill, innovation and critical importance of ceramics, only to be excluded from the support it actually needs. His frustration is understandable, and frankly shared by many people here. How many times can an industry be told it is valued while being left to shoulder impossible costs?

This is not hypothetical either. The warning signs are already here. Denby said in March that the Denby group of companies in the UK had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators after a period of severe financial pressure. Denby’s own campaign has linked that crisis directly to soaring costs and low consumer confidence, and it has urged people to support the petition as part of the wider fight to protect the ceramics industry.

That matters in Staffordshire because Denby’s group includes Burgess & Leigh, the company behind Burleigh Pottery in Middleport, one of the most significant working pottery sites in Stoke-on-Trent. So when people sign this petition, they are not just commenting on an abstract national issue. They are standing up for jobs, skills and sites that are deeply connected to North Staffordshire and to the story of this area.

There is another reason this matters so much locally. Once specialist manufacturing skills disappear, they do not come back easily. Kiln firing, materials knowledge, design, decoration, technical ceramics, industrial processes, engineering expertise, all of that takes years to build and can be lost frighteningly quickly when businesses are pushed to the edge. Staffordshire knows the cost of industrial decline. That is exactly why so many people are angry that ceramics seems to be fighting the same battle all over again.

The Government has said it knows this is a difficult time for potteries and ceramics, that it meets regularly with Ceramics UK and trade unions, and that the industry will be able to help shape possible future changes when consultation on the Supercharger scheme takes place later this year. But for many in the sector, that will not be enough. Businesses do not pay bills with warm sentiments. Workers do not keep jobs because ministers promise to keep talking. The crisis is now, and the support still is not.

That is why this petition matters.

It matters because it sends a message that Staffordshire is watching. It matters because it pushes ceramics higher up the political agenda. It matters because if government can recognise the importance of other industries when energy costs surge, then it can and should do the same for ceramics. And it matters because the loss of this sector would not just be an economic blow. It would be a cultural wound to the communities that built it, sustained it and still believe in its future.

If you care about British manufacturing, sign it. If you care about Staffordshire jobs, sign it. If you care about protecting not just heritage pottery, but the wider advanced ceramics sector that serves modern industry, sign it. And if you are tired of seeing this county’s defining industries treated as an afterthought, sign it and share it.

Petition: Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills

Apply energy intensive industry relief (Supercharger scheme) to the ceramics industry to help cut soaring industrial energy costs & support ceramics businesses, which are at the risk of imminent collapse without urgent intervention, as seen with Denby Pottery registering for administration support.

Petitions - UK Government and Parliament