(Bloomberg) -- Top brass from companies including Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, Prudential Plc and Legal & General Group Plc will advise Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s UK government as it devises a new industrial strategy to drive growth.
Rolls-Royce Chair Anita Frew, Prudential Chair Shriti Vadera and Legal & General Chair John Kingman will meet on Tuesday with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds as part of a 16-person council to advise ministers in the months ahead, according to a statement from the Department for Business and Trade.
The planned strategy is a central plank of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s vow to make the UK “one of the best places in the world to do business.” The premier’s Labour government, which swept to power in a landslide win at the July 4 general election, plans to focus the strategy on key sectors including financial services, defense, life sciences, technology, clean energy and the creative industries.
“Whether it is investment into new film studios, cutting-edge technologies, or green energy, the expertise and work of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council will be key to giving investors the solid foundation on which to build, helping to support local skilled jobs and raising living standards in communities across the UK,” Reynolds said in the statement.
Tuesday’s meeting — which will be held at Lloyds of London — will discuss “investment, innovation, and breaking down barriers to growth in key sectors,” according to the business department. Microsoft UK CEO Clare Barclay will chair the panel, which will also include academics, union leaders and chief executives such as Nancy Rothwell from the University of Manchester, Kate Bell from the Trades Union Congress, Tunde Olanrewaju from consultancy McKinsey and Henrik Pedersen from Associated British Ports. Also on the council is former Conservative Business Secretary Greg Clark — who devised the UK’s last industrial strategy in 2017.
Clark’s plan under then-Prime Minister Theresa May aimed to funnel private investment into sectors such as artificial intelligence, automotive manufacturing and life sciences, but was scrapped four years later by May’s successor Boris Johnson.
Businesses and investors will be hoping this latest attempt from Starmer will last a little longer and bring some stability. The premier, in turn, wants to win their support after a rocky start to government in which he and Reeves alienated many business leaders with a first budget focused on raising a payroll tax on employers and lifting the minimum wage.
In the run-up to Labour’s investment summit in October, would-be investors were keen to know what kind of incentives were on offer — and while the full industrial strategy plan won’t be unveiled until the spring, they’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for any suggestions coming from the council.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.