The UK has the right industrial strategy in the wrong places

The Golden Triangle owes its success to government support. Policy should aim to create a few similar hubs of excellence elsewhere, says Tom Forth.

The renewed political interest in industrial strategy might suggest that the UK has lacked one until now. That would be a mistake.

Yes, government is reluctant to support unviable steel mills and loss-making coalmines. It largely resists preferring domestic trains and airplanes over imported rivals. But in areas where intervention supports the market economy rather than fights it, industrial strategy is both present and effective.