John Bachelor

How much would it cost to plug the gaps in state capacity that stand in the way of growth?

A well-targeted fund of £100ms could achieve a lot, for around 1% of next year's £13bn increase in capital investment.

x.com/ftukpolitic...

Manufacturing is a war now And the democracies are losing.

www.noahpinion.blog/p/manufactur...

Technological and manufacturing capabilities are a key determinant of our national security.

As I've put it before, how much use is having 2.5 million bankers and consultants when shit hits the fan?

We have struggled with industrial strategies in the past. But many countries (Germany, Taiwan, France, US, China) have implemented strategies that spurred growth, secured leadership in emerging sectors, and strengthened natsec.

Here’s what we think the UK needs to do industrial strategy well:

Response to Industrial Strategy Green Paper - UK Day One

Full response is here: https://ukdayone.org/briefings/response-to-industrial-strategy-green-paper#section-3-1

Finally, we note the peculiar omission of businesses from the Green Paper's theory of change, arguing that industrial strategy should explicitly aim to enable the next generation of world-leading British firms.

Industrial strategy will only succeed if it is reflected in decisions made across government.

To aid this, the Industrial Strategy Council should be empowered to respond to major announcements, particularly Fiscal Events.

It's good to see the Green Paper's focus on removing barriers.

UK Day One's growth survey highlighted reforms in planning, energy, high-skilled migration, and the UK’s trade relationship with the EU as priorities.

AI Industrial Strategy: A Plan for “Intelligence Too Cheap to Meter” - UK Day One

When it comes to choosing subsectors, we suggest that AI and advanced nuclear technologies are particularly strong candidates

Julia has a piece with Haydn Belfield and Tom Milton on AI Industrial Strategy, which is worth checking out.

https://ukdayone.org/briefings/ai-industrial-strategy

Industrial strategy is critically important to strengthen the UK's national security.

Therefore, we recommend that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster plays a role in industrial strategy governance.

Government also needs better analysis. Secondments from regulators or the financial sector are a quick way to boost capacity.

We can also learn from the approach adopted by ARIA, empowering 'Programme Managers' to place bets within priority subsectors and technologies.

Government should make the most of external experts.

The model adopted for the AI sector, bringing in an outside expert in Matt Clifford to draft a sector plan could be replicated for other sectors.

Industrial strategy is a skill that government needs to learn. To succeed, the British state must adopt an approach that, by many measures, it is not yet fully equipped to deliver.

If we fail to build capacity, government is vulnerable to capture by powerful incumbents.

I worked with Julia Willemyns at UKDayOne on a short response to the government's Industrial Strategy Green Paper consultation.

Thread with some of the key points...