The Way Ahead, is one of those WWII propaganda movies in which a group of people from hugely different backgrounds, finally unite around an intense period of training and shared dangers, to help win the war. Lead by David Niven how could they fail? But unfortunately it seems the more we obsess about the Second World War, the more we forget its lessons. You need a common aim, everyone has to share the same risks and gain the same benefits; then people will pull together and follow the government’s strategy. After that they only need the tools to finish the job.
Unfortunately all you need to know about the government’s levelling up agenda is contained in three simple facts. The apprenticeship scheme is a car wreck, money for depressed Northern towns overwhelmingly went to Tory constituencies and BIES ended its industrial strategy. Not much of “we’re all in this together”, not enough training and a government that has yet to decide what it wants or how to get there.
But what should the government be doing?
For a start it should be throwing money not at constituencies but at Further Education and apprenticeships, the government has the money to throw at its friends so why not at the people who are suffering most and whose training would help the most? Paying the full cost of an apprentice, including their wages, would be money well spent.
Then it needs to spend far more on infrastructure, especially in the North. HS2 will help but you need another 4-5 high speed rail lines. It is no coincidence that the wealthiest part of the country is surrounded by motorways and the poorest aren’t.
Finally you need an industrial strategy, otherwise you are just throwing money around at pet projects, without coordination or cooperation.
But none of this will happen because it is still a Tory shibboleth that it is not the government’s job to intervene in the free market or even invest enough in infrastructure. But if you look at the sectors of the economy that are highly skilled and world beating, pharmaceuticals and aerospace for instance, that is exactly what does happen. Taking the dead hand of regulation from the City, lead to the credit crunch.
There are plenty of examples around the world of how to to do it, including in the UK during WWII. Any half decent Civil Servant could consult a couple of economic historians and devise a scheme in a month. But government has just got to want it to happen but it plainly does not know The Way Ahead.
https://jonty.substack.com/