Business Economics & Policy @ Birmingham Business

“So, yes, we welcome the fact that we were right and the economically illiterate Chief Commissioner No. 1, Max Caller, has been found out to be very wrong indeed. And we do hate to say we told you so.” New Blog from the Blackstuff + ⁦@johnclancy⁩ blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog260217…

As the EU discusses a ‘Made in Europe’ strategy & prepares to unveil its Industrial Accelerator Act, where has the UK got to on industrial strategy? Our recent critical review in ⁦@RegionalStudies⁩ gets you up to speed. ⁦@regstud⁩ tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Move the 2030 Petrol Car Ban to 2035 & Fix the EV Transition Properly. New blog: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog26… ⁦@NickGibbs⁩ ⁦@nickcconnor⁩ ⁦@jjpjolly⁩ ⁦@JeremyClarkson⁩ l (is this Left or Right ⁦@hiltonholloway⁩? Anyway comments welcome)

Move 2030 Petrol Car Ban to 2035 & Fix the EV Transition Properly. New blog: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog26… ⁦@AutoExpress⁩ ⁦@autocar⁩ ⁦@CarDealerEd⁩ ⁦@AMchatter⁩ ⁦@AutoRetail⁩ ⁦@SMMT⁩ ⁦@MikeHawesSMMT⁩ ⁦@CARmagazine⁩ ⁦@KanaInagaki⁩

Move 2030 Petrol Car Ban to 2035 & Fix the EV Transition Properly. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog26… ⁦@Automotive_News⁩ ⁦@neilwinton1⁩ ⁦@SteveFowler⁩ ⁦@raymasseytweets⁩ ⁦@ErinBakerMotors⁩ ⁦@au_tom_otive⁩ ⁦@PhilipN_Auto⁩ ⁦@GregKable⁩

Move 2030 Petrol Car Ban to 2035 & Fix EV Transition Properly. blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog26… ⁦@rsp_ingram⁩ ⁦@Theothebald⁩ ⁦@NFDASueRobinson⁩ ⁦@mikejonesauto⁩ ⁦@DakshGuptaCEO⁩ ⁦@_jakegroves⁩ ⁦@JRRBatchelor⁩ ⁦@simonwells01⁩ ⁦@StvCr⁩

Move 2030 Petrol Car Ban to 2035 & Fix the EV Transition Properly. New blog: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog26… ⁦@justauto⁩ ⁦@CarDealerEd⁩ ⁦@vertumotorsCEO⁩ ⁦@transportgovuk⁩ ⁦⁦@TransportCttee⁩

The @SMMT is right. We really do need a comprehensive review of the ZEV mandate. New blog: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog26…

The ⁦@SMMT⁩ is right. We need a comprehensive review of the ZEV mandate. New blog: blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbautoblog26… ⁦@MikeHawesSMMT⁩ ⁦⁦@AutoExpress⁩ ⁦@AMchatter⁩ ⁦@autocar⁩ ⁦@AutoRetail⁩ ⁦@KanaInagaki⁩ ⁦@Automotive_News⁩

Is the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy really ‘place-based?’ Recent ⁦⁦@RegionalStudies⁩ paper. ⁦@regstud⁩ ⁦@BISmemberSec⁩ tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

A short #Regions @regstud blog summarising our recent @RegionalStudies policy debates paper critiquing the UK’s modern #industrialstrategy @RSAEurope @BISmemberSec regions.regionalstudies.org/ezine/article/…

Delighted our recent @RegionalStudies paper ‘A critical review of the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy’ is getting so many reads and attention… it is a call to arms for putting place at the centre of a modern industrial strategy. @regstud @SallyJHardy doi.org/10.1080/003434…

A gentle riposte to ⁦@timleunig⁩’s last Observer column which seemed to write off much of UK manufacturing. That would be a bad mistake. ⁦@MakeUK_⁩ ⁦@SMMT⁩ ⁦@FaradayInst⁩ @gtma1 ⁦@Jefferson_MFG⁩ @mtdmfg ⁦@unitetheunion⁩ blogsfromtheblackstuff.com/bftbblog260127…

The real choice is not between manufacturing and services, but between an active industrial strategy and managed decline.

It also undermines our capacity to deliver the green transition, which depends on domestic production of energy-intensive materials and technologies.

Writing off manufacturing risks locking Britain into a low-investment, low-productivity future, dependent on imports and exposed to fragile global supply chains.

Other advanced economies have reformed their markets, shielded industrial users from price volatility and decoupled electricity pricing from gas. The UK has chosen not to.

Nor are Britain’s energy costs a law of nature. They are the result of policy choices. Wholesale electricity prices are still set by gas, even when renewables are generating power at far lower cost.

Remove the industrial base and much of the supposedly footloose “services economy” withers alongside it.

Manufacturing is not some outdated relic we can painlessly abandon in favour of services. Modern industry and services are increasingly intertwined: advanced manufacturing sustains high-value activities in design, engineering, logistics, data analytics and after-sales support.