Industrial Strategy

Status / emerging findings

• Industrial Strategy Council lacks statutory footing despite government manifesto commitment; only clean energy sector plan published by April 2026, with other six sector jobs plans delayed past promised June deadline
• Energy costs remain structurally uncompetitive: UK prices 50–60% higher than EU competitors and highest in G7, driving manufacturing closures and deterring major inward investment (e.g. OpenAI data centre rejection)
• Automotive sector facing crisis: zero-emission vehicle mandate targets are mathematically unachievable under current trajectory; reaching 1.3 million vehicle production by 2035 requires attracting new manufacturer but current policy direction risks production closures
• Public procurement (£380 billion annually) lacks strategic alignment: only £86 billion traceable to two of eight sectors; visibility of SME participation and supply-chain composition severely limited
• Regional growth framework weakened by fiscal devolution gaps: mayors operate on 7% of tax-raising powers versus 50–70% in comparable G7 cities; 73+ fragmented funding streams prevent coordinated labour-market planning

Why it matters

The Industrial Strategy is the government's flagship policy to make the UK the fastest-growing G7 economy; if delivery mechanisms fail—as emerging evidence suggests—the strategy becomes rhetorical cover for continued deindustrialisation, especially in automotive, energy-intensive manufacturing, and regional economies.

Tone arc

Began cooperative (April 2025 ministerial evidence, May 2025 R&D and finance panels), shifted adversarial by April 2026 automotive hearing as production-closure risks became explicit; final Industrial Strategy Council session (April 2026) revealed structural delivery gaps and exposed tension between ambition and institutional capacity.

Key witnesses

Dame Clare Barclay DBE (Industrial Strategy Council Chair), Jonathan Reynolds MP (Secretary of State for Business and Trade), Matthew Ogg (SMMT, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), Murray Paul (Jaguar Land Rover), Lisa Brankin (Ford), Arjan Geveke (energy-intensive industries representative), Stian Westlake (UK Research and Innovation), Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater Manchester)