Workman said it is "extraordinary" that so many regulations exist in a time of austerity and believes the "barrage of issues" coming into effect with legislations next year, such as new timber regulations, the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive and the next phase of REACH registrations, will further halt growth in the recession-hit UK economy.

He addressed industry figures, MPs and local government officials at a one-day summit held at Leeds Metropolitan University on 25 May.

Workman claimed that the "constant conveyor belt of legislations" was harming energy-intensive industries.

The Carbon Floor Price and Carbon Reduction Commitment are just a couple of the cumulative regulations currently "strangling" the UK manufacturing sector, according to Workman.

He said next year would be worse for the economy with new UK and EU energy efficiency and carbon reduction legislations due to come into effect that would come with a "heavy cost tag" for companies that were not already adhering to the new regulations.

Workman said: "Nobody in government seems to understand the cumulative impact of these complex regulations. They add up to hundreds of millions of pounds in bills and tax for companies, when the Government should be rebalancing the economy and encouraging growth. That is not going to happen if the Government keeps enforcing measures that increase costs.

"UK manufacturing needs a bonfire of quangos and red tape, rather than more legislation that is not only adding bureaucracy, but also sizeable costs to industries like the corrugated sector.

"The policies enforced are further hindering the UK’s ability to compete globally."

He said that a moratorium should be put in place for the next five years to offset the detrimental effect of added bureaucracy.

The lack of growth in the UK for the past two quarters could be a recurrent theme in Q2 of 2012 as a result of red tape, Workman said.

He added: "The UK and Brussels just can’t help themselves. The corrugated packaging industry would welcome a strategy for manufacturing that puts maintenance and growth at its heart. This means creating a level playing field for these sectors, so that they can compete in the global markets in which they operate.

"We need to adopt the sort of pro-manufacturing culture in all Government departments that seems to exist in Germany."