Unlock the publisher’s digest free
Roula Khalaf, editor -in -chief of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The writer is the British Prime Minister
The world has entered a new economic era. In many ways, it is more dangerous, with growing threats to our security. But it is also a world of a huge possibility. The technological progress of the life sciences, clean energy, artificial intelligence and more are deeply reshaped our economy.
It is a gold opportunity. We can exploit these great strengths and use them to make our economy both equitable and stronger. The race is undeniably on, but Great Britain is well positioned to win. Our financial industry, our universities and our scientific institutions are entirely. Our legal system establishes global standards. We have an inheritance imbued with trade and business. And with our recent trade hats agreements – with India, the United States and the EU – we have restored our identity as world free trade champion. A challenge signal, which even if the world becomes more volatile, Great Britain is without shame open to business. And these years of chaos are now firmly in the past.
However, there is a catch. For decades, successive governments have moved away from an appropriate industrial strategy. We have had a state which, paradoxically, both decreases and interferes too much. When the industries found themselves at the mercy of change, they too often had to fend for themselves, the government is not interested in providing a bridge to the future. However, when new opportunities arise themselves, Great Britain has often been too regulated to take advantage of it, too cautious to change course. The result is a state that is both dominating and weak, poorly used an economy which has become too dependent on a small number of places, too exposed to global volatility and too slow to take advantage of opportunities.
At a time of technological transformation, this cannot bear. The tired debates on the big or the small government belong to the past. The only debate now is whether you are agile enough to grasp the future chances or be quickly left. This is the engine goal of my change plan. And that’s why I’m proud to launch a New industrial strategy For the nation today. Robust, strategic and shamelessly long -term, it meets the challenges of our time. A 10-year plan to make the United Kingdom the best country in which investing around the world. But also, a new relationship between companies and the government defined by the partnership.
The agreement is simple. The government provides strategic certainty. And this means that companies are free to do what they do best and create wealth.
Of course, some will always say that it means that the government intervenes more in the economy. I don’t deny that. I think it is our role to support British companies, to invest in our comparative advantage and to make bets in the pursuit of growth and productivity. But this strategy was written with the companies themselves. This means that it understands the importance of agility and constantly wonders if the regulations block the conditions of Great Britain.
The result is decisive support for eight high -growth sectors – life sciences, advanced manufacturing, digital technology, defense, clean energy, finance, professional and commercial services and creative industries. Everyone has a clear path to a comparative advantage. Everyone will create jobs and wealth. And everyone will be supported with billions of investment books: 86 billion pounds in research and development, increasing our innovation capacity. More capital for the British Business Bank. A new generation of technical colleges. And action on industrial electricity prices to deal with a major obstacle to our competitiveness.
Make no mistake, it will make a difference for thousands of companies. But the most important thing of all is part of our British growth plan. As we had to repair the foundations of our first year, we asked for a lot of business. But we have also made decisions that now give us a formidable platform to build a more prosperous Britain. We supported British exporters, by opening up new markets with these three commercial transactions.
We radically deregulate the planning system. We have developed a cutting -edge strategy to exploit the potential of artificial intelligence, we will unlock the richness of retirement to stimulate investments and cross the stoves of state regulation which will retain construction and growth. And, as demonstrated by the expenditure examination, we invest in skills, transport and infrastructure across the country.
Today’s industrial strategy is based on all of this. It represents a new phase for the government – an evolution of the problem solving inherited in the provision of changes and renewal persons may feel. This will create the wealth, jobs and growth we need in each community. A plan that supports creators of British wealth. And in partnership with them, we will recover the future of Great Britain.