Whither ‘Industrial Strategy’? Building Back Badly

By David Bailey (Below Left) & Philip Tomlinson (Below Right)
Picture by Edward Moss

The UK’s ‘industrial strategy’ [PPT1] was held up as a flagship policy for post-Brexit Britain and an opportunity to do things differently, recognising that the state can after all play a proactive role in shaping markets and enhancing growth.  It was also well received, attracting support from across business, academia and political divides.
Odd then, that it has just been largely scrapped.  Indeed, just 3 years after the 2017 White Paper [PPT2], several sectoral deals later and the launch of local industrial strategies in England, the UK government announced it was ditching its ‘industrial strategy’ along with the Industrial Strategy Council [PPT3].
The latter was a respected independent advisory group led by Andy Haldane – Chief Economist at the Bank of England – tasked with providing impartial advice and ensuring the industrial strategy met its objectives.
 

 
In place of the indust...