The
government is this week scheduled to unveil its industrial strategy for
Britain. It promises to be a fascinating document. Although this
industrial strategy has received far less publicity than Brexit, it
could have a more significant long-term impact on Britain then leaving
the European Union.
But that impact depends on the government not only producing a
substantial plan but also sticking to it over years and parliaments,
which will not be an easy task.
Until Theresa May made her speech on Brexit
last week, there were growing fears in the business world that the
industrial strategy could be a damp squib. It is understood that there
have been splits within government about how detailed the industrial
strategy should be – because of fears that it could show Britain’s hand
too early in negotiations with the EU on Brexit.
So while Greg Clark, the business, energy and industrial strategy
secretary, understandably wanted to produce a weighty plan, those in the
department for exiting the European Union were wary about the government telling the world which industries it considers most important.
In
her speech, the prime minister said not only that Britain intended to
leave the single market, but that she wanted the country to be a
cheerleader for global free trade – and she cited key sectors for this,
including car manufacturing and financial services. By outlining
Britain’s approach to Brexit negotiations, May gave the industrial
strategy a platform to build on.
The contents of the strategy are likely to focus on what sectors the
government believes have potential, how they will be supported, and how
it intends to develop skills, infrastructure and research and
development.
The prime minister established the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy soon after she succeeded David Cameron in July. That move in itself was a notable step away from Cameron’s approach.
Sajid Javid,
Cameron’s business secretary, had expressed his dislike for government
intervention and avoided the phrase industrial strategy altogether. His
argument was that industries and companies who were not part of the
strategy felt isolated.
Nonetheless, almost nine out of 10 business leaders surveyed by the
influential Institute of Directors (IoD) said that they were in favour
of an industrial strategy. Javid’s predecessors in the role of business
secretary, Lord Mandelson and Sir Vince Cable, both happily adopted the concept.
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