We don’t need Rachel Reeves’ ‘industrial strategy’

It is not hard to imagine what will be in Rachel Reeves’ ‘industrial strategy’. There will be lots of ‘green industries’, along with plenty of ‘cutting-edge technologies’, all designed to nurture ‘national champions’ in the ‘sectors of the future’. And presumably Lord Alli, the Labour donor who has been footing the bill for Keir Starmer’s wardrobe, will be put in charge of overseeing all the details. Alongside the tax rises in the Budget planned for next month, the Chancellor’s promise of a full-blown industrial strategy is a troubling prospect.

‘Around the time of the Budget we will publish a green paper on a new industrial strategy focused on driving and shaping long-term growth so we can make every part of our country better off,’ Reeves told the Labour party conference today. That document will be followed by several months of consultation with the unions and businesses, and everything will be up and running by next spring.