Chi Onwurah: The Tories’ industrial strategy shows they will not walk away from free market fundamentalism

The Tories claim to have finally realised that state-intervention is not always a bad thing. As business secretary, Sajid Javid barely uttered the words “industry” or “strategy”, let alone together. So it is good to hear Theresa May call for a much more active role for the state when it comes to industry.

But post-Brexit Britain needs a much clearer vision than we are currently getting.

The government’s consultative green paper on industrial strategy, published last week, does not provide an adequate break with the blind commitment to free-market fundamentalism that we have seen in the past. There’s a key thing missing here: the “strategy” part of industrial strategy.

They’ve already shown their true colours by pushing through the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank. This threatens to cut off a key source of patient finance for UK businesses, making it harder to fund technologies with a long-term payoff.

The green paper’s lack of new R&D spending commitments is similarly troubling. I was pleased to see the government reiterate its commitment to increase such spending by £4.7 billion. This is an increase of roughly 20 per cent. The last time that government R&D spending rose by such an amount was during Labour’s last term in office from 2005 to 2010.

But how long does the government intend to dine out on this announcement, made last autumn? R&D spend is rising from a very low base, after seven years of unnecessary austerity. UK spending on R&D has fallen by 50 per cent in real terms over the last five years. During the same period German R&D spending has risen by 15 per cent. China’s has risen by an astounding 100 per cent.

We urgently need to bring UK investment in R&D and infrastructure in line with the OECD average. That’s why Labour has committed to raising total R&D spending to 3 per cent of GDP.

Then there is adult education. It’s difficult to overstate its importance in an era of an ageing population and rapid technological change. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on adult education and a fervent believer in the potential for people of all ages to acquire new skills, I think it’s past time that the government recognised this.

And yet the green paper’s 132 pages contain just one bullet point on lifelong learning, and no specific policy commitments.

Without any overarching vision to guide them, the Tories are falling back on old habits. Underneath, this is still the party of de-industrialisation, privatisation, and free-market dogma.

Genuine industrial and technological progress needs to be guided by a long-term vision informed by all parts of society. That’s why Labour’s consultation on industrial strategy, launched three weeks before the green paper was published, has already involved businesses, trade unions, other organisations and individuals across the country.

Labour is working to create the industrial strategy our country needs. We have a vision for a high-wage, high-growth economy that provides people with the jobs and skills they need to succeed. Only Labour can create what the innovation economist Mariana Mazzucato calls the entrepreneurial state: a bold, risk-taking government that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with business in the creation of new jobs and industries.

We want our industrial strategy to be led by the big challenges of our time, from decarbonising the economy to caring for an ageing population.

Rather than taking a scatter-gun approach to sectors and technologies, we’ll orient our work around key missions, such as drawing 60 per cent of our energy from low carbon sources by 2030. This will allow us to galvanise businesses across every industry and region and nurture internationally competitive domestic industries such as tidal lagoon energy and carbon capture and storage, both of which this government has cut.

Crucially, the strategy will be driven by Labour’s principles, valuing diversity and putting people first.

I launched our industrial strategy consultation early last month, and so far we’ve received almost 1,000 submissions from businesses, trade unions, academics, other organisations and individuals from across the county. Working with Rebecca Long-Bailey, our shadow secretary of state, we’ll use these responses to shape a truly inclusive industrial strategy that reflects the hopes and dreams of the British people.

Our consultation closes at 5pm on Thursday February 23. Unlike the Tories, we know the economy won’t be reshaped from the top down – so send us your responses before then to make your voice heard.