Thing is, though the heavy industry is mostly gone, there is still manufacturing in the UK.
Supermarkets are a major driving force for the industry, not just for the companies who manufacture their products but for all the other companies in the supply chain who provide the raw materials, the product packaging, the labels, the plant equipment, the oil, disinfectant, lubricants etc. need to run the plant, the plant fitting and maintenance, the pallets and internal packaging, the distribution, and so on - the majority of these are also based here.

Sainsburys, Tesco etc. generally aren't prepared to wait six weeks for their order to be shipped from China if there's a factory in Rochdale that can do a similar or better product and get it to them in four days, even if it is slightly more expensive. The added bonus for the supermarkets is that they can easily enter a direct dialogue with a UK or European manufacturer and have closer control over the marketing, quality and development of their products; unless the supermarket concerned has a considerable presence in China they have to go through third-party agents to source their goods.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Wed 3 Aug 2011, 23:08, Reply)