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Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 30 June 2025

Debate

UK Modern Industrial Strategy

Contribution

My Lords, over the years, Governments have introduced their industrial strategies—I remember the industrial strategy of the Callaghan Government—but I think sometimes they think that they have found a policy when they have simply found a phrase. Industrial strategies in the past have tended to lead to a lot of different funding pots and opportunity for lobbyists. The Minister used the phrase “crowding in”. Crowding in sounds wonderful, but are the Government or the agencies that administer the industrial policy going to avoid two dangers: first, that by combining public money with private money, they are merely subsidising investment that would have happened anyway, and, secondly, if they are subsidising that investment, that it is not a poor investment and that the risk is being taken out of it? How are they going to be able to avoid those two dangers that have plagued industrial strategy in the past?

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