Ambition, indeed. Plenty of politicians have had similar aspirations and not seen them come to fruition.
The UK has, undoubtedly, been good at inventing ‘things’. What it hasn’t been good at is developing those ‘things’. And getting those ‘things’ manufactured in the UK has been an even greater struggle.
Many have tried to understand why this is, but there has been no convincing explanation. Is it lack of finance? Is it lack of management ability? Does the UK simply not have an entrepreneural culture?
Interestingly, the Chancellor appears to see this as a ‘once in a generation opportunity’.
Surely, if the UK’s commercialisation culture is to be transformed in the way in which the Chancellor outlines, it will need continuous action, significant financial support and, quite possibly, nothing short of a revolution in the education system.
