Infrastructure boost is a no-brainer for Philip Hammond | Letter
Your report (UK-wide official pledge on 'basic infrastructure' urged, 1 November) outlines an independent commission's call for the British government to provide "universal basic infrastructure" for every citizen as part of an ambitious new industrial strategy. The commission's report supports Unctad's broader argument across many countries and contexts. Industrial strategy needs to be embraced as a long-term plan, managed strategically and embedded through government.
Within hours of the report's release, critics fretted about governments' abilities to "pick winners" and eagerness to abuse the public purse. But with chancellor Philip Hammond's forthcoming budget promising to boost productivity, it is timely to recall how industrial policies galvanised structural transformation in other times and places, from the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s to China's ambitious Manufacturing 2025.
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