As China’s cheap prices continue to dominate western markets, attempts to revive or invent UK brands has never been tougher

Britons might never again get the chance to buy an electric kettle made in the UK. Even a £150 kettle from Dualit, the company most famous for making its celebrated toaster in Crawley, West Sussex, is produced by Chinese workers 5,000 miles away.

Most consumers think the whereabouts of the factory or assembly plant riveting their latest purchase together is irrelevant, but those who do want it to be produced locally do not have a choice.