UK Industrial Strategy

UK Industrial Strategy
Name	UK Industrial Strategy
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Launched	2017
Minister	Theresa May
Agencies	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Innovate UK
Status	Policy framework

Contents

UK Industrial Strategy The UK Industrial Strategy was a policy framework launched in 2017 under Theresa May as Prime Minister to shape long-term national planning, competitiveness, and productivity across the United Kingdom. It set out strategic priorities linked to innovation, skills, infrastructure and regional growth, drawing on precedents from Conservative Party (UK), Labour Party (UK), and advisory input from bodies such as Confederation of British Industry and Institute for Government. The Strategy intersected with debates around Brexit, the 2017 United Kingdom general election, and fiscal planning overseen by the HM Treasury.

Background and Policy Objectives

The Strategy emerged after commissions and reports including contributions from the Industrial Strategy Council and policy papers influenced by thinkers associated with Resolution Foundation and Centre for Cities, aiming to address stagnating productivity seen since the 2008 financial crisis and disparities highlighted by the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. Core objectives were framed as "ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment, and places," intended to coordinate interventions across institutions such as the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and investment mechanisms like British Business Bank. Objectives referenced international comparators including German reunification economic policy, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and United States Department of Commerce practices.

Key programmes included sector deals and challenge funds such as the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which worked with research councils and Innovate UK to back technologies aligned with initiatives like the Faraday Challenge for battery development and the Transforming Cities Fund for transport. The Strategy promoted partnerships with industries through automotive industry deals involving firms such as Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan Motor Corporation in the UK, and collaborations with academic institutions including University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and Imperial College London. Other initiatives coordinated investment in digital infrastructure alongside projects involving BT Group and the European Investment Bank before changes following Brexit negotiations.

Governance mechanisms placed responsibilities with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and oversight from bodies like the Industrial Strategy Council and advisory groups drawing on the Confederation of British Industry, TUC, and think tanks such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Delivery relied on partnerships with delivery agencies including Innovate UK, UK Research and Innovation, and financial intermediaries such as the British Business Bank and regional development institutions modeled on prior entities like the Regional Development Agencies (England). Oversight intersected with departmental accounting frameworks of the HM Treasury and parliamentary scrutiny from committees such as the Business and Trade Committee.

The Strategy adopted sector-specific deals for areas including automotive, aerospace with stakeholders like Rolls-Royce Holdings, life sciences partnering with GlaxoSmithKline and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and creative industries linking to BBC and British Film Institute initiatives. Regional approaches included "place-based" interventions for areas such as the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine, coordinating with combined authorities like the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Sectoral strategies referenced supply-chain resilience lessons from events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and infrastructure priorities exemplified by projects like High Speed 2.

Funding streams combined public grants, challenge prizes, and tax incentives such as the Research and Development tax credit regime and capital investments routed through the European Investment Bank (pre-Brexit) and domestic mechanisms like the British Business Bank. Public procurement policies and advanced market commitments were used to catalyse adoption, drawing on procurement examples from the National Health Service and defence contracts with firms like BAE Systems. Financial incentives were complemented by regulatory initiatives involving bodies such as the Competition and Markets Authority and standards work with International Organization for Standardization participation.

Evaluations by institutions such as the National Audit Office, Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development noted mixed outcomes: advances in targeted R&D investments and regional programmes but limited success on aggregate productivity and regional convergence. Criticisms came from actors including the Trades Union Congress, Greenpeace, and academic commentators at London School of Economics and University College London who flagged issues of governance, scale, and continuity after leadership changes including the transition from Theresa May to subsequent administrations. The Strategy's interplay with Brexit and shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic complicated assessments of causality and long-run effects, prompting calls for clearer accountability, stronger industrial planning comparable to Germany and France, and renewed emphasis on skills pipelines linked to institutions such as City and Guilds.

Category:Industrial policy