I suspect there’s a certain relief in Downing Street today. First, the opening ceremony passed off pretty well; no one is talking about G4S this morning. Second, Standard and Poor’s has reiterated Britain’s AAA credit rating despite the negative GDP figures this week.
The government is hoping that the Olympics will help it turn the corner from the negative economic news of recent months. Over the next week or so, we’re going to see what one minister described to me as ‘the government’s industrial strategy’ in action.
The Global Investment Conference at Lancaster House is meant to showcase the benefits of investing in Britain for specific sectors. The aim is to get away from the 1970s idea of ‘picking winners’, or – more accurately — propping up losers, and instead highlight the benefits of the UK regime for industries like life sciences and the creative industries.
Whether this approach works or not, remains to be seen.
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