Since the start of the year, the flow of stories highlighting Britain’s fading industrial prowess seems to have reached warp speed. The number of new cars made in the UK has sunk to its lowest level since 1956. Britishvolt, the country’s answer to Tesla, collapsed into administration. The struggling steel sector was the subject of a potential government bailout. Meanwhile, as the clean tech race between the US, the EU and China hots up, the lack of UK response remains conspicuous.The routine approach from British politicians to sectors in need of attention has been to lament current performance, promise funding and state the desire to become a “world leader”. From the 2017 industrial strategy of Theresa May’s premiership and Boris Johnson’s 2021 “plan for growth”, to current chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s long-term economic vision, numerous industries have been the subject of the Conservatives’ proclaimed world-beating goals: cryptocurrency, green energy and the future of transport to name a few.
自今年年初以來，有關英國工業實力衰落的新聞似乎在以驚人的速度出現。英國制造的新車數量已降至1956年以來的最低水平。寄托著英國電動汽車夢想的不列顛伏特公司(Britishvolt)破產了?？嗫鄴暝匿撹F行業可能成為政府救助的對象。與此同時，在美國、歐盟(EU)和中國圍繞清潔技術的競爭白熱化之際，一個顯眼的事實是，英國仍沒有能夠參與競爭的選手。