Industrial Strategy

Chuka Umunna Excerpts

Monday 27th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his welcome for the White Paper. He will see that one of its important features is the recognition that clusters—that is to say, businesses in the same sector all reinforcing each other—can lead to excellent performance.

On the basis of this strategy, substantial new investments have been committed in the life sciences sector, but these are the first in a pipeline of new investments that will follow all across the country and in every part of the United Kingdom, justifying the attention and the work that we have been engaged in—led by Sir John Bell, the eminent scientist—to make sure that we are the go-to place in the world for anyone with an interest in the future of the life sciences.

[Chuka Umunna (Streatham) (Lab)]

The publication of the strategy is welcome, but I have two asks of the Secretary of State. First, for this to succeed in the long term, it has to be able to survive changes of Government. Is it not about time that we set up a cross-party commission to build the political consensus needed to produce further iterations of the strategy? Secondly, let us be honest and recognise that the biggest institutional barrier to what he is proposing is the Treasury. Treasury orthodoxy has never properly got behind the concept of an industrial strategy. Is it not time to change his Department into a proper Ministry of economic reform that takes on all non-fiscal economic policy, across the Government, and which is equal to, not subordinated to, the Treasury?

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman makes an intriguing set of suggestions. Let me start by completely agreeing with him that it is right to establish and support a strong consensus on the long-term commitments that we need to make in this country. It seems to me that other countries around the world have benefited from having a shared commitment to policies and institutions that investors know are going to endure, and that is the approach we intend to take. That is precisely the reason why we have had such an extensive consultation, involving all parts of the country and all parts of the economy—and across parties. He is right that the best way for the strategy to endure is for it to have the commitment and involvement of people who have an interest in the future success of the United Kingdom.

This is true across Government, too. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that in times past—in decades past—the finance Ministry has regarded itself as precisely that, but I think the importance of accepting that our national prosperity requires business to succeed in all parts of the country is recognised. Anyone who looked at the Budget last week and saw the commitment made by the Chancellor to, for example, research and development, will recognise that this is a whole-Government commitment, but the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that it also needs to embrace the whole country.