The Director General of the CBI, Carolyn Fairburn, has called on the government to commit to an industrial strategy, whatever that is, so we can "leapfrog" other nations rather than just catch up with them (HERE). I don't disagree, but a strategy that just might have a very slim chance of working would take years to develop - even if government knew what the problem was and I'm far from convinced that they do.
It would then take several decades to implement and show results. All political parties would have to sign up to it and commit continuous funding for as long as it takes. But the irony is that we could have done this while we were still members of the EU! And Brexit will reduce the amount of money available across government making it far more difficult.
After fifty years working for British and latterly European companies in various industries I know that on the continent they are miles in front and moving further ahead. Catching up will be hard. Leapfrogging them will be a monumental effort. It might be done by the middle of the century - if government finds the right plan and massive investment is made year after year by both private and public sectors.
Many years ago, I read of a German industrialist who was asked by a British CEO how Germany viewed the UK. He said they saw the UK as a soft market for German goods in the same way that we look at Ireland as a soft market for British goods. We are a very easy customers for them, as we are for many European countries and with good prices. It's not difficult to sell European products into the UK because our own industries, which one might expect to compete, are frankly hopeless. In my experience UK machines are almost always badly designed, badly built and badly supported - usually by people who don't care much what the customer's think. As long as you can get a first order on price and make a bit of money, all is well. The second order or the long term doesn't bother them at all. This is the problem an industrial strategy must address - but almost certainly won't.
