Making the political case for an industrial strategy

On October 14 the new government published a comprehensive public consultation - “Invest 2035: the UK’s modern industrial strategy”. This was an important moment, closing out Labour’s first 100 days with the opening stages of a key part of the growth strategy.

However, the new government will be acutely aware that this consultation is just the first step. Many industrial strategies have failed to stick or provide the long-term economic stability they promised. We can count eleven published growth strategies in the past 14 years, exposing British people and businesses to political and economic uncertainty, instability, and volatility.

Stability has been central to all calls for an industrial strategy. Academics, businesses, and policy-makers have made their case for an industrial strategy. In an increasingly competitive global market, they want certainty to invest and a coherent approach to economic policy-making.

Now, our polling makes the political case for an industrial strategy. It identifies three insights that should provide the political anchor for the next steps of the new government’s policy-making.

1.   The government has a mandate for a different type of economic plan. The typical criticism of industrial strategy – a bloated state picking winners – no longer works with the British people. Our polling shows a new appetite from British people for an active and engaged government. Before the election British people overwhelmingly blamed the poor performance of the economy on “poor planning from government”. All respondents believe the challenges related to industrial strategy are best solved by companies and the government working together, rather than by either alone.

2.   A good stable industrial strategy must be politically anchored to British people's preferences, and that means outcomes. Understanding the political anchor – which parts of an industrial strategy resonate with the British people – will give confidence to the government to hold the strategy steady against the day-to-day buffeting of events and the news cycle. The British people don’t care about the process or rationale for an industrial strategy. They care about outcomes. They want growth to fix public services, support their towns, create better jobs and wages, and bring down energy bills.

3.    The government has approval for tough choices that prioritise long-term sustainable outcomes. Our polling shows that British people have an appetite for decisions that deliver long-term sustainable outcomes over short-term flash-in-the-pan announcements. British people understand that the sensible economic governance Labour will deliver means tough choices and prioritisation, that those outcomes could take time, and that growth is multifaceted and must be considered alongside issues like security and the environment.

Taken together, this means the government has a unique opportunity. It can use its political permission to confidently design policies that make the difficult decisions to deliver a strategy long-term. And critically, then stick to them.