In my
boyhood the UK helped to win the War using British made Lee Enfield rifles, British
built Centurion tanks, British Spitfires and Hurricane fighters and Wellington
bombers, and Clyde or Belfast-built warships.
After the
War we resumed producing Leyland buses and famous motor cars: Rileys, MGs and
Austin Healeys; Rolls Royces, Lagondas
and Bentleys; Rovers Jaguars, and
Jowets (in Bradford), to name but some. By contrsast the German Volkswagen company was limited to
producing Austin Sevens on licence. The Duke
of Edinburgh pointed out that the British had invented Television and the Jet Engine. What wasn’t to like?
Today the
situation is different. Our buses are all
imported (and railway carriages and engines as well, I suspect), the only
surviving British-owned car manufacturer is Morgan (I think), the world famous Sheffield
steel industry no longer exists and even
the windmills that generate the clean electricity of which the government is so
proud are made abroad.
So what, if
anything, are we still good at?
Helpfully, earlier
in the week (15th October)the Guardian’s Business Editor, Nils Pratley, provided
a list.
The top
eight areas, in no order apart from the first two are:
1. Financial Services;
2. Professional Services
3. Technology;
4. Creative industries;
5. Advanced manufacturing;
6. Defence;
7. Life sciences;
8. Clean energy.
These are
the eight “growth driving sectors” in what might be called Labour’s “Industrial
Strategy.”
As Pratley
points out, it may seem odd to head an Industrial
strategy list with services, but times have changed even if the nomenclature
hasn’t. We were taught to be very proud
that Britain had been “the Workshop of the World,” that “Made in Britain” was a
universally recognised mark of quality, and that “Sheffield Steel” really had
been “The best in the World and the envy of the World.”
With the wisdom
of hindsight we can see that in the second half of the 20th century
we placed too much emphasis on things the World used to want and propping up
the industries that provided them, and not enough on discerning the what the World’s wants would be in the future,
and developing the skills necessary to satisfy them.
In other
worlds, to move from manufacturing things to supplying services.
That it
didn’t matter whether we earned our living by supplying goods or supplying
services was about the only issue on which I agreed with Margaret Thatcher. Now I admit that both of us went too
far. There is an argument that an
economy needs a manufacturing base on which
to support service industries. Both Germany and France have managed to achieve a better balance.
With this in
mind, the Government’s policy needs to be to enable the above eight sectors (plus two more I shall mention
later) but to avoid nursing then. We
are already almost a quarter of the way
though the “new” century, and the leading sectors of the last may not be the
areas which the World wants or which we are good at providing in the future.
To take each
of the above in turn:
1.
Financial Services. Our economy has lived on the back of these for
years, but we may have lost our edge.
Joining the Euro would have helped maintain London’s pre-eminence. Brexit was and is even more damaging. However, I suspect most of the earnings of
the City are achieved thought sophisticated gambling, along with tax havens and
money laundering, all of which are morally dubious, so perhaps we shall be
happy to move out.
2.
Professional Services. These include Insurance and Legal
services. For the latter, Sir Keir Starmer’s
commitment to the Rule of Law, including International law, should strengthen
our position.
3. Technology. In this sector our major strength in
design needs to be supported by an increase in the provision and prestige of technical
education. We need skilled artisans as
well as gifted designers.
4. Creative Industries. It has become the fashion to mock qualifications in “performing arts” as
somehow substandard and frivolous. Yet this is an area where we are and remain respected
members of the top World Leagues. The
reduction in funding of the BBC, a major sponsor of the arts, is nothing short
of criminal and should be reversed, along with support for the BBC’s news and communication services.
5. Advance manufacturing. I’d be interested to
know of what.
6. Defence. This is a heavily subsidised area. Maybe it is in all countries, but I doubt
that British defence industries would flourish without heavy government assistance. Procurement by the services is hugely
wasteful.
7. Life sciences. The universities play an important part in
this and should be treated far more generously.
The current fashion of precarious short-term contracts for lecturers and
researchers is inappropriate. The
pharmaceutical industry tends to exploit the NHS. There is a strong case for at least one
nationalised firm dedicated to supplying the NHS with drugs at cost.
8. Clean energy. Given that we are surrounded by oceans in which
the tides come in and out twice a day (and four times in the Solent) without
fail, we should become World Leaders in wave and tidal power.
I’m surprised
that Higher Education is not included
in the list. There is a huge demand from
international students to study for first and
higher degrees, and do post-doctoral research, in our universities. The
previous government’s obsession with keeping them out beggars belief. Let’s hope this policy is soon reversed, and
not just to subsidise domestic students.
The Tourist Industry is also a major area
for earnings. We have a history and
culture which interests people from many parts of the world as well as our own
residents. We need to preserve the physical manifestations of it. Among other “relics” our cathedrals and
historic churches should be maintained
from the public purse, not be forced to pester their declining congregations and exploit their visitors. We need a smoothly operating transport
network and hospitality facilities to enable visitors and natives to explore
our country without trauma.
A tall order? Yes. A ten year pogramme, at the very least.