Ministers, MIRA and a Modern Industrial Strategy

On Monday evening, I attended a reception of the UK Department of Business and Trade, where several ministers and business leaders came together to discuss the highly anticipated Modern Industrial Strategy.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had launched the Strategy at HORIBA MIRA, the renowned automotive engineering and development centre in Warwickshire, where Bosch Engineering GmbH (BEG) has its UK base.

We are pleased to see very clear priorities identified in the new Modern Industrial Strategy for the UK. If its ambitions are achieved, it should help businesses and consumers at a time when both are facing challenges.

In a climate of intensifying geopolitical tensions, it represents hopeful ambition and clear focus and addresses key areas, such as reducing energy costs – which would significantly benefit businesses and help the overall industrial landscape – and nurturing and retaining skills within the UK workforce, which is crucial for supporting the country’s economic growth aspirations.

In advance of the publication of the Industrial Strategy, I met with Investment Minister, Baroness Gustafsson CBE, and spoke about the need to support the vibrant start-up business community in the UK, alongside recognising the economic role of established large businesses, so it is also pleasing to see the Strategy highlight the importance of supporting companies to scale into businesses capable of anchoring supply chains, including via access to finance and simplifying government interactions.

We agree that the UK is home to extraordinary research and innovation, including in the university sector, and that its frontier industries should be nurtured to help them thrive. And as a business with facilities spread across the country, from Scotland to Stowmarket and Warwickshire to Worcester, we also support the greater focus on the UK’s city regions and clusters.

We look forward to the ongoing dialogue, as part of the government’s enduring partnership with business, and the follow-up action that will help shape the future of the UK’s industrial landscape.