Delivering the government’s economic growth mission: What is the role of the industrial strategy?

The industrial strategy has emerged after a long gestation, with June’s white paper containing an exhaustive list of policy commitments intended to deliver Labour’s promise to “lay the foundation for a decade of growth”, create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs, ensure that every region thrives, and put Britain “at the forefront of the technological revolution”. The strategy identifies 37 different ‘Frontier Industries’ within the eight growth sectors already set out in the green paper from October 2024, with these sectors treated as enablers of productivity to other parts of the economy – not just as vehicles of growth in themselves. So how can this ambitious idea be delivered successfully? What combination of market and regulatory reforms can help to deliver this aim? What will be the role of public sector financial institutions like the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank? What is the role for private finance? Is the government’s push to encourage more pension fund investment in British industry welcome or risky? And with the industrial strategy containing so many goals, industries and policy instruments, has the government taken on more than it can realistically deliver? To explore these questions and more, we were joined by an expert panel, including: Sam Lister, Director General for Industrial Strategy at the Department for Business and Trade Paul Nightingale, Professor of Strategy at the University of Sussex Karen Northey, Corporate Affairs Director at the Investment Association Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government This event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. This event was kindly supported by the Investment Association.