Industrial Strategy by Michael Heseltine

A RESPONSE TO THE GOVERNMENT’S GREEN PAPER
By The Rt Hon the Lord Heseltine of Thenford CH

Following publication of the Government’s Green Paper on building an industrial strategy for Britain, Lord Heseltine has set out his thoughts on why it is so important for the UK to have a strategy and what it should embrace.

Lord Heseltine’s recommendations and calls to action are developed from his decades of experience as a successful businessman and then a Cabinet minister involved in many industrial and social developments of great significance in the UK, and his knowledge of how governments and businesses in other countries work together.

In his preface, Lord Heseltine says: “I have come to see that there is an essential partnership between the public and private sectors upon which modern commerce and industry depend.

“In this document, I set out the many ways in which governments do intervene and, recognising that, ways in which the British Government could do so more effectively.

“My intention is not to improve the world-beating quality of many of our companies but to use that excellence as a stimulus to raise the standards of those that fall a good way behind.

“My most significant criticisms are reserved for the unwillingness of governments over many decades to recognise the inadequacy of their own centralised structure in galvanising the potential of the whole economy and the enthusiasm of all the people who contribute to it.”

The contents of the pamphlet are:

P5 PREFACE
P6 EXPERIENCES THAT SHAPED MY VIEWS

P14 THE ROAD TO AN INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
P15 The interventionist role of government
P17 Why the private sector can’t lead the process
P17 The essence of an industrial strategy
P18 The Government’s Green Paper

P22 ESTABLISHING AN INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
P22 The need for a clear view
P26 Allocation of scarce resources
P28 Include the quangos
P30 A proper management information system
P35 Complete the devolution agenda
P43 Summary of the role of government

P44 THE CHANGES NEEDED IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR
P45 Making trade associations more effective
P46 Uniting and supporting the private sector
P47 What growth hubs can do
P49 Patient capital to grow businesses
P51 A British sovereign wealth fund
P52 Local public-private partnerships that work
P53 Best practice to drive exports
P54 China’s latest, formidable plan
P55 The German approach to exporting

P56 THE ROLE OF EDUCATION
P59 Education’s way forward
P60 What to do about failing schools
P61 The skills agenda

P62 REGULATING, AND NEW MARKETS BASED ON COMPLIANCE
P63 Opportunities stemming from industrial strategy

P64 EXAMPLES OF INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY IN PRACTICE
P65 Hospitals, pharma and medical equipment industries
P65 Advanced learning and educational systems
P66 Civil Service training and academic institutions
P67 Road pricing is another opportunity
P68 The broader benefits of horticulture

P70 CLASSIC ARGUMENTS AGAINST INTERVENTION
P71 THE TEST OF NATIONAL INTEREST
P73 CONCLUSION: OUR URGENT AND UNAVOIDABLE NEED