Fairly recently, the UK government issued a draft Industrial Strategy. Any discussion on this seems to have been drowned out by the Brexit rhetoric. Yet it is too important to ignore. UK productivity is low – wages are low – living standards are low. We need a kick up the backside, to shock us into action … or we need a sensible, long-term strategy.
Instead what we get is Brexit posturing – and all the media attention is fixed on that (and Trump, of course).
When I advise companies, I tell them to beware of concentrating on the urgent at the risk of ignoring the important. Well, productivity improvement is both urgent and important – it is the only way out of the low wage, low living standards cycle.
Put the industrial strategy back on the table, please.