Experts from academia, business, and trade unions across the UK are appointed to the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council as the government seeks to deliver long-term growth in key sectors.
Leading economist and expert on industrial strategy, Dame Professor Diane Coyle, has been appointed to the UK’s Industrial Strategy Advisory Council. Diane, renowned for her work in economics and policy, will provide impartial guidance on the government’s efforts to reshape and strengthen industrial policy, boost productivity, fuel economic growth, and ensure that government interventions are strategically sound and effective.
The Council, chaired by Clare Barclay, President, Enterprise & Industry for EMEA, Microsoft, includes academics and business leaders from across the UK to offer government independent advice and recommendations as it develops a new, modern Industrial Strategy to support its growth mission of being e a prime investment opportunity for business. The Industrial Strategy, and the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, will be key to giving investors the solid foundation on which to build.
The members met with the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds at an inaugural Industrial Strategy Advisory Council today (17 December 2024), to embark on an extensive programme of engagement and take account of views from businesses, academia, devolved governments and local leaders across the UK in response to October’s Green Paper, “The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy”.
The green paper explains that the Advisory Council will be led by evidence and “empowered to advise, make recommendations, and monitor Industrial Strategy policy”. The creation of the Advisory Council is intended to prevent frequent policy changes and ensure “stability and long-termism” and the government has committed to making it a permanent and independent statutory body.
Diane’s appointment comes at a crucial time due to two major transitions the global economy is undergoing: digital transformation and the shift to a net-zero energy system. As she discusses in her report co-authored with Adam Muhtar, these changes are disrupting industries, creating both growth opportunities and risks for businesses that cannot adapt. A strategic approach to industrial policy is necessary to boost investment and ensure markets function effectively. However, policy churn and lack of coordination across government have hindered economic strategy, leading to low investment in sectors like manufacturing, R&D, and education in the UK.
“Industrial policies have the potential to boost productivity and fuel economic growth while enabling governments to push back against excessive corporate influence. But their success depends on technical expertise and a nuanced understanding of the risks and opportunities within specific sectors,” writes Diane in her article, Successful Industrial Policy Requires Industry Experts (10 December 2024), for Project Syndicate.
Full list of Industrial Strategy Advisory Council members:
- Clare Barclay, President, Enterprise & Industry, EMEA, Microsoft (Chair)
- Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, University of Manchester (Deputy Chair)
- Kate Bell, Assistant General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress
- Rt Hon Greg Clark, Executive Chair, University of Warwick Innovation District
- Professor Dame Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
- Dame Anita Frew, Chair, Rolls-Royce Holdings
- Chris Grigg, Chair of the National Wealth Fund (ex officio)
- Greg Jackson, CEO, Octopus Energy
- Sir John Kingman, Chair, Legal & General and Chair, Barclays UK
- Tunde Olanrewaju, Senior Partner, McKinsey
- Professor Henry Overman, Professor of Economic Geography, LSE
- Henrik L. Pedersen, CEO, Associated British Ports
- Richard Pennycook, interim Chair, Skills England (ex officio)
- Aislinn Rice, Non-Executive Director, Analytics Engines
- Roy Rickhuss, General Secretary, Community Trade Union
- Baroness Shriti Vadera, Chair, Prudential plc and Chair, The Royal Shakespeare Company
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
