Category Archives: Industrial policy

Clustering of AI firms in south and east of England will foil levelling up – report

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Hi-tech ‘golden triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London risks deeper regional inequalities, says thinktank

Investments in new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are “profoundly skewed” towards the “golden triangle” of Oxford, Cambridge and London, and risk deepening existing regional inequalities in England, according to research.

Ministers have promised to level up the country, narrowing the gap between the best- and worst-performing areas, but the rapid rollout of generative AI and automation could cut against that aspiration, according to the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW).

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Welsh semiconductor factory ‘left in limbo’ as Westminster fails to approve US takeover

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Labour criticises government ‘dithering’, after Vishay deal last autumn to buy chip maker Newport Wafer Fab stalls, putting jobs at risk

Labour has criticised “dither and delay” from the government over a decision on a proposed takeover of the UK’s largest semiconductor facility by a US company, warning that it could lead to further job cuts at the Welsh factory.

The fate of Newport Wafer Fab in south Wales has been unclear for nearly two years since the UK government first indicated it had concerns over a 2021 takeover by the Chinese-owned Nexperia firm. The national security concerns related to the ownership of semiconductor technology by a company with links to China.

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‘Hypocrisy’: Tata builds vast India furnace despite Port Talbot emissions claims

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Owner says shutting Welsh blast furnaces will cut emissions, but it is opening a new one in India

The owner of the Port Talbot steelworks has been accused of “gross hypocrisy” as it prepares to open a new blast furnace in India, while citing a cut in carbon emissions for its decision to close two blast furnaces in south Wales, costing thousands of jobs.

Tata announced last week that up to 2,800 jobs would be cut under plans to close Port Talbot’s two huge blast furnaces and replace them with an electric arc furnace.

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Manufacturers say UK becoming more competitive as global hub, survey finds

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Findings show British bosses growing in confidence over sector’s prospects despite ‘headwinds of sustained economic challenges’

Britain’s largest manufacturers believe the UK is increasing its competitiveness as a global hub for manufacturing, despite high energy costs, worker shortages and political instability holding back progress.

In a crunch period for the economy before the general election, the manufacturing trade body Make UK and the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said industry bosses were growing more confident about the sector’s prospects, but “headwinds of sustained economic challenges” still remained.

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Minister calls for pay offer to be taken ‘seriously’ as doctors in England strike

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Health unions suggest industrial action likely to continue as Gillian Keegan defends 6% rise on the table

A senior cabinet minister has urged health unions to take the government’s pay offer “seriously”, after union bosses warned the proposed deal would drive doctors out of the profession and could lead to further strikes.

Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, defended the offer of a 6% pay rise for junior doctors a day after the government accepted the recommendations of the public sector pay review bodies.

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Firm owned by Britishvolt buyer raided by Australian authorities

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Future of UK battery making thrown further into doubt after company founded by David Collard was visited by federal police

A company owned by the buyer of Britishvolt has been raided by the Australian authorities, throwing the future of UK battery-making further into doubt.

Britishvolt, based in Blyth, Northumberland, and which the UK government lauded for its potential role in British battery production and UK-built electric vehicles before it fell into administration, was bought by the Australian entrepreneur David Collard earlier this year.

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Major tech firms face hefty fines under new digital consumer bill

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Global companies like Google, Apple and Amazon could have to pay penalties of up to 10% of their global turnover as government gives competition watchdog more power

Major tech firms face the threat of multibillion-pound fines for breaching consumer protection rules under new legislation that will tackle issues including fake online reviews and subscriptions that are difficult to cancel.

The digital markets, competition and consumers bill will empower the UK’s competition watchdog to tackle the “excessive dominance” that a small number of tech firms hold over consumers and businesses.

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UK chip designer Arm chooses US-only listing in blow to Rishi Sunak

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PM had held talks with firm’s owner SoftBank in effort to make London first choice for tech flotations

The Cambridge-based chip designer Arm is to pursue a US-only listing this year, dealing a major blow to Rishi Sunak’s ambitions to make London the first choice for tech company flotations.

The company, which is owned by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, confirmed its preferred plan of seeking a US-only main listing later this year, spurning the UK despite heavy lobbying by successive prime ministers.

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Tens of thousands of teachers prepare to strike in England and Wales

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Teachers in north of England to strike on Tuesday followed by members in other regions over course of three days

Tens of thousands of teachers will strike this week resulting in the closure of some schools as members of the National Education Union (NEU) take part in three days of industrial action.

With little sign of a solution to the dispute on the horizon, teachers in the north of England will strike on Tuesday, followed by members in the Midlands and eastern regions on Wednesday.

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Dominic Raab denies being abusive towards anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller – UK politics live

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Justice secretary facing a number of bullying claims says Miller’s allegations are ‘baseless and malicious’

Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin leader in Northern Ireland and first minister designate, has said she is “encouraged” by what she is hearing about the prospects of the UK and the EU reaching a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.

Speaking after a meeting with Micheál Martin, the Irish foreign minister and tánaiste (Irish deputy PM), in Belfast, she said:

I am very much encouraged by what we’re hearing, I think the tánaiste shares that same assessment and we want both sides to continue in earnest to get a deal, to close this out, to close it out as quickly as possible.

This was a useful and constructive conversation. Over eighteen months ago we outlined the parameters for the way forward. We set our tests and those continue to be our yardstick for measuring any deal between the EU and UK.

There will be no restoration of the NI executive until the protocol is replaced with arrangements that unionists, as well as nationalists, can support. Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market must be restored and our constitutional arrangements must be respected.

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PMQs live: Sunak faces Starmer as minister says rail strikes have cost more than settling pay dispute

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Prime minister facing questions from leader of the Labour party and other MPs

Huw Merriman, the rail minister, told MPs this morning that the government has lost more money due to the impact of rail strikes than it would have cost to settle the disputes months ago, PA Media reports. PA says:

Merriman told MPs the row has “ended up costing more” but insisted the “overall impact” on all public sector pay deals must be considered.

Ben Bradshaw, a Labour member of the committee, put it to Merriman that “we’re talking of a cost to the government of over a billion (pounds) so far” from the impact of strikes, which have repeatedly decimated services for several months.

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Revealed: cabinet split over NHS pay disputes piles pressure on Sunak

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Health secretary Steve Barclay urges unions to lobby PM over improved pay offer for striking nurses and ambulance workers

The health and social care secretary Steve Barclay has privately urged trade unions to help him make the case to the Treasury and No 10 for extra money for nurses, ambulance workers and other NHS staff in an extraordinary twist to the escalating crisis over health service strikes, the Observer can reveal.

A serious cabinet split has opened up, with Barclay now wanting more money for all NHS staff except doctors – while Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, are refusing to budge from their insistence that no more can be offered.

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Fire Brigades Union calls for ‘mass movement of resistance’ against anti-strikes bill – live

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Legislation to be published today particularly aimed at firefighters; Shapps denies new laws would increase risks of strikes

The anti-strikes bill being published today is aimed particularly at firefighters. Fire and rescue is one of the areas where minimum service levels will definitely be set; in other areas, the government says mandatory MSLs will just be a last resort, because it is hoping the voluntary agreements can be reached. (See 9.21am.)

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said the bill was a “shameful attack” on democratic rights and he called for a “mass movement of resistance” against it. He said:

This represents one of the most shameful attacks on the democratic rights and liberties of working people in decades …

This is an attack on all workers – including key workers, who kept our public services going during the pandemic.

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Unions holding government to ransom with talks demand, says Ben Wallace

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Minister ratchets up hardline stance as he rejects claim government is sabotaging efforts to end strikes

Trade unions are seeking to hold the government “to ransom” by demanding direct talks on public sector pay, Ben Wallace has argued in a further apparent ratcheting up of ministers’ hardline stance towards strikes.

Speaking at Manchester airport, where he met military personnel covering for Border Force staff, the defence secretary rejected a charge from the new TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, that the government was sabotaging efforts to end the strikes.

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UK investment in R&D plunges in blow to ‘science superpower’ plan

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IPPR says extra £62bn a year needed to match global leader Israel after sharp decline since 2014

Britain’s plan to become a post-Brexit “science and technology superpower” has suffered a significant setback after a fall in research and development investment of almost a fifth since 2014, according to a report.

The Institute for Public Policy Research said the UK’s share of global investment in R&D projects – including in health and life sciences – had fallen sharply from 4.2% eight years ago to 3.4% in 2019 immediately before the Covid pandemic struck.

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‘Zombie government’: more than half of departments delay key decisions

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As an economic crisis looms in the UK, legislation shelved and deadlines missed on energy, online safety and gambling laws

Mining along the west coast of Cumbria goes back to at least the 1600s, and this summer the local community awaited a crucial government decision on whether a new deep coalmine operation would be given the go-ahead.

While proponents of the £165m deep coalmine near Whitehaven say it would create jobs and help power the UK’s steel industry, environmental campaigners say it would undermine the government’s commitment to meeting climate targets.

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Grant Shapps urges P&O Ferries to U-turn on sacking of 800 workers

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The transport secretary is expected to close loopholes to ensure ferry companies pay the UK minimum wage

Grant Shapps is writing to the chief executive of P&O Ferries urging him to announce a U-turn on the decision to sack 800 workers without notice, as unions pledged to “ratchet up the fight” after a weekend of protests.

The transport secretary is expected to present a package of legislation on Wednesday to close loopholes and ensure ferry companies running regular services to and from the British Isles pay their crew the UK minimum wage.

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UK and Scottish government agree deal on freeports in Scotland

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Plan proposes two ‘green freeports’ based around low-emission industries

UK ministers and the Scottish government have reached a deal over proposed freeports in Scotland, after months of disagreement over what No 10 has billed as one of the main economic benefits of Brexit.

The Scottish government had resisted the idea of freeports – specific areas that offer tax breaks and other incentives to investors – which are intended to revitalise deprived areas but have been accused of encouraging tax avoidance and lower regulation.

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Old-school Stellantis car factories gear up for the shock of electric

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Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant is one of many whose future lies in the hands of the merged auto giant

Carlos Tavares is an unashamed petrolhead, with a rally-racing hobby that harks back to an earlier automotive age. Yet carmakers like Stellantis, which he leads, and its rivals have had to set aside affection for roaring internal combustion engines as environmental rules set the limits for the industry.

Stellantis was formed in January in a €50bn (£43bn) merger between France’s Peugeot and Italian-American Fiat Chrysler, in one of the clearest responses to the Tesla-driven electric revolution: the merger will allow them to share expensive investments in battery technology.

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Working nine to nine: Chinese tech employees push back against very long hours

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Staff at Alibaba, Huawei and other well-known companies have shared evidence of unpaid compulsory overtime

Chinese tech employees have pushed back against a wave of protest over the industry’s notoriously long hours, known as the “996” schedule of working from 9am to 9pm, six days a week.

For months, former and current employees of some of the country’s most well-known companies had been posting evidence of unpaid, often compulsory or heavily encouraged overtime on the code-sharing platform Github.

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