Government’s Industrial Strategy: A Step Towards Long-Term Business Confidence
Monday 23 June 2025
The UK government has today published its long-awaited Industrial Strategy, outlining a framework for long-term economic growth, productivity, and investment. The strategy outlines several encouraging proposals to improve the operating environment for UK businesses, many of which reflect priorities consistently raised by LCCI and the wider London business community.
The recognition of eight strategic growth sectors including financial and professional services, life sciences, and creative industries is a welcome signal that the government is taking a more focused and pragmatic approach. It acknowledges the importance of sector-specific strengths alongside enabling reforms in infrastructure, workforce development, and digital adoption.
It is particularly positive to see a shift in tone towards a more collaborative model of policymaking, with commitments to deeper engagement between government and business, including through new advisory councils and forums.
Karim Fatehi OBE, CEO of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said:
“The industrial strategy outlines the positive steps the government is taking to provide the strategic certainty businesses need to drive the UK’s growth ambitions long term. The strategy shows that the government is beginning to respond to business concerns by tackling barriers to investment across areas, including regulation, skills, technology adoption, and access to finance, which we have long campaigned for. Delivered well and in close collaboration with businesses, this agile approach will accelerate both the industries that present the greatest opportunity for growth and the SMEs that power our economy.
“London is home to many of these businesses as the UK’s economic engine room and serves as a vital trade and investment gateway to every area of the country. Key to unlocking the potential of regions and clusters outside the capital remains protecting and strengthening London’s competitiveness on the world stage.
A new relationship between business and government is welcomed, and we look forward to working with the government to make this strategy a reality.”
John Stevenson, Director of Corporate Affairs, Forth Ports Group and LCCI Patron said:
“We support the government’s Industrial Strategy. Ports are enablers of business growth, trade with our international partners and the development of the decarbonised economy. Over the coming years, we will continue to develop our world-class industrial complex through expansion and innovation to ensure that London and the South East remain competitive on the world stage.”
However, while the direction of travel is encouraging, delivery will be key. The London Chamber of Commerce will be looking for more detail on a number of fronts, including immigration reform and public investment mechanisms. Similarly, areas like aviation, commercial R&D, and housing pressures that affect labour mobility in London are not yet addressed with sufficient depth.
Crucially, the strategy must also ensure there’s support for wider sectors including logistics, hospitality, and retail, all of which remain integral to London’s economy and the UK’s overall business ecosystem. Their exclusion risks creating uneven growth and missed opportunities.
Nevertheless, this Industrial Strategy marks a step forward in re-establishing long-term certainty and a clearer partnership between government and business. The commitment to investing in skills, modernising infrastructure, and expanding access to finance is a vision that brings economic prosperity for the UK and London, its economic powerhouse.