UK Modern Industrial Strategy

Joani Reid Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Reynolds]

It is important for colleagues to understand that the modern industrial strategy published today provides a tool through which other non-economic Government Departments can filter their own policy decisions, in a way that is consistent and to the benefit of UK business. For instance, the Home Office will publish its exemptions to the more restrictive skilled worker visa in relation to what the sectors set out in the strategy need and, for the first time, decisions will be made through that lens. My hon. Friend mentions a specific piece of work by colleagues in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the workforce strategy, to which they are committed. I do not have a timescale for that, so I will ensure that I or colleagues write to him about it. The prize here is genuinely joined-up Government. To be frank, the preparation of the strategy has not always been easy, but it is the kind of consistent approach to policy, competition and competitiveness in the UK that is very important.

[Joani Reid (East Kilbride and Strathaven) (Lab)]

I welcome this ambitious industrial strategy and commend the Secretary of State on the long-term thinking, which is something we did not see under the previous Government. East Kilbride in my constituency, Scotland’s first new town, was born out of an effective post-war industrial strategy, but over recent years my constituents have been given false hope by both the SNP and Tory Governments, with big promises and little delivery. Will the Secretary of State give my constituents reassurance that this time, the strategy will deliver and we will get growth and jobs?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I will be frank with my hon. Friend’s constituents. In the past, Governments have produced documents that do not have much longevity but have a lot of analysis without necessarily having real measures behind them. That is why we have launched this strategy on energy, finance and skills, on the powers that local areas need and how those programmes will work consistently across Government. This is always about creating the conditions for the private sector to thrive in, but anyone looking at the big challenges facing UK industry will see them addressed in this document.