For a decade, we have been told that Britain's future lies in becoming a 'science and technology superpower.' We celebrate our unicorns and our world-class research base, yet the national productivity figures remain stubbornly flat. Why?
The answer lies in the 'long tail' of British business. While our frontier firms are world-leading, the vast majority of UK companies remain laggards in the adoption of even basic digital tools. We have a localized excellence that fails to diffuse into the wider economy.
Investing in R&D is essential, but it is not enough. We need a radical focus on management quality and digital adoption across the SME sector. Until the local plumber or the mid-sized manufacturer is using AI to optimize their operations, the 'superpower' rhetoric will remain just that — rhetoric.
Government policy has focused too much on the 'shiny' and not enough on the 'gritty' work of industrial modernization. If we want to solve the productivity crisis, we need to stop just inventing the future and start implementing it.
