When British Steel got nationalised in all but name it was clear that the bail-out flood gates had been opened. Low and behold it took one day from the announcement that Lotus was ceasing production to having the prospect of taxpayers money thrown at them.

So far the industrial “strategy” is little more than throwing money at certain companies to alleviate effects rather than to fix actual problems and energy prices are the most blatant. Sky-high energy prices are down to the marginal pricing model which is gravy-train where wind generators with a marginal generation cost of virtually zero getting paid the same rate as horrendously inefficient peaker power stations. With axing of this scheme off the table high energy prices are structurally locked in.

Oh, and the 2 year consultancy period before any subsidy kicks in. Preying the companies slated to get the kickback actually survive long enough.

Between Brexit and the Trump tariffs building these cars in British factories only makes sense for servicing the domestic market, and that market cannot compete in board rooms who typically think in terms of continents. Any trade deal with the EU that does not involve rejoining the customs union is more or less a waste of time, and with Trump’s stated intention for a reversal of trade deficits any UK-US deal will have nasty side-effects. Put bluntly British exports will not be an engine of British economic growth for for foreseeable future.

So with export markets dead what can Britain actually do? It needs to get its domestic shit in order.

Reform UK’s idea of putting business chiefs in government at first looks like the right direction, but what government really needs is business founders. Farage was a metals trader which is a cushy job obtained via some old-boys network so his ideas of how businesses grow is about as bad as the typical public sector unionised lifer. Michael Heseltine and Chris Huhne are the only two cabinet ministers I can think of within my lifetime who had a proper understanding of business at the sharp end.

Back in the early 2010’s what I saw was SME’s being thrown to the wolves, and the directors of the company I worked for back then had to risk their houses to further the business. Risk must come with reward but the ever-higher taxes and withdrawal of benefits being heaped on the £100k+ earners make this a joke. So forget about this source of growth.

The government has to think in terms of rule rather than exception but so far it looks like 1970’s playbook of avoiding mass layoffs via handouts. The problem is all the companies with around 5-10 employees who lay off one or two rather than taking anyone extra on, and ignoring these micro organisations is in plain sight to see. What is desperately needed is an environment that both respects and understands building things up rather than throw cash at those who can put a gun to the government’s head.