The lost origins of industrial growth
Article
Former trade and industry under secretary Chris Benjamin provides a critical review of British industrial policy over the past 30 years and lays out the scale of the challenge of staying competitive in the modern global economy.
'Amid the clamour for a 'plan for growth', or a 'plan B', or even a 'plan A+', it is generally forgotten that British industry has been losing international competitiveness for at least three decades. It is perverse to rely on the institutional structures and attitudes that have contributed to this decline to reverse the trend.
'A genuine growth strategy needs to junk conventional policy approaches, and replace them - to quote a senior policy adviser in Singapore - with a government team smarter than the smartest captains of industry.'
Related items
A people-focussed future for transport in England
Our findings from three roundtables on the impact of transport in people’s lives and the priorities for change.Progressive renewal: The Global Progress Action Summit
A quarter of the way through this century, change is in the air. Everyone, everywhere, seemingly all at once, wants out of the status quo.Insurgent government: How mainstream parties can fight off populism and rebuild trust in politics
Across the western world it feels like a sea change is occurring in our politics. At the heart of this is a simple fact: large numbers of people increasingly feel that mainstream politics is failing to deliver for them.