The authors of this blog have close links with the ancient English city of Bristol.

It is therefore sad for us to see that a valued part of Bristol’s commercial heritage is being lost: the car firm which takes its name from the city has been forced into administration.

The only surprise is that Bristol Cars lasted this long. Most of the once-mighty British automobile industry has now either been acquired by foreign groups or gone bankrupt. Its most enduring legacy is a large pile of “how not to do it” management case studies.

Bristol Cars was an exception only because it was a tiny manufacturer which ran a tight operation, with only 22 employees, and which had developed its own niche market. It produced only a few dozen cars a year, prestige models which were hand built. Triumphs of craftsmanship and engineering, they built up a fanatical following at the upper end of the market. A proper marketing operation was considered unnecessary – which may have been part of the problem...

Britons have been trying to console themselves for decades that the decline of their large-scale manufacturing industries was being offset by success with “niche” or “prestige” brands. The collapse of Bristol Cars suggests that this may be a naive hope.

Britain still has a lot of valuable brand names – Saville Row suits, single malt Scotch, and Rolls Royce, Bentley, and Jaguar cars – but they are not necessarily British-owned or made by British craftsmen using traditional methods.

Poor industrial relations were a major factor in the decline of British manufacturing up until 1979, but they have not been so much of a problem since then. The last decade has seen a completely new phase of decline. Its victims have been small or medium-sized firms. Its causes are unimaginative management, failure to respect the demands of global markets, and the refusal of politicians to listen to the needs of business.

The world is getting more and more competitive. If the country that started the Industrial Revolution wants to retain even a vestige of its glorious manufacturing heritage, it needs to admit it has a problem and start listening to people who understand what needs to be done.