A group of more than 90 backbench Labour MPs has issued a warning that the government’s reindustrialization agenda will fail unless it is centrally coordinated from the prime minister’s Manchester office, known as No 10 North, which was established earlier this year.
The MPs contend that decades of deindustrialization and deregulation have left the state lacking the institutional knowledge and capacity required to effectively oversee industrial policy. According to a briefing paper reviewed by media outlets, the government has become disconnected from understanding economic conditions and business operations, unable to engage in comprehensive planning and constrained by slow decision-making processes. The group argues that without deliberate planning structures, reindustrialization cannot be achieved.
The backbench members are proposing several concrete measures, including the passage of a Reindustrialisation Act that would establish clear job creation targets tied to manufacturing capacity rebuilding, with mechanisms to hold ministers accountable for meeting those objectives. They recommend that Louise Haigh, the first secretary, be given oversight of reindustrialization efforts from No 10 North. Additionally, they suggest transforming the National Wealth Fund into a dedicated Reindustrialisation Development Corporation focused on providing capital for industrial rebuilding.
Parliamentary members emphasize that reindustrialization must extend across multiple government departments and policies, ranging from procurement practices to education systems. They point to recent decisions such as the nationalization of British Steel as examples of actions aligned with this direction. The MPs argue that growth policy should prioritize delivering employment to areas most in need rather than concentrating on already-prosperous regions.
This initiative aligns with the Prime Minister’s stated commitment to achieving “good growth in every postcode” and the government’s published industrial strategy, which identified eight sectors for development including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and defence.
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