Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow Statement: UK Industrial Strategy

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow Statement: UK Industrial Strategy

Paul Bristow, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has given the below statement on the Government’s publication this week of The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy:

“There’s much to welcome in the Government’s new Industrial Strategy. But I am concerned that the Life Sciences Sector Plan has been delayed. This is a sector that matters so much here in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“The Industrial Strategy’s commitment to making the UK Europe’s top life sciences economy by 2030, and third in the world by 2035, is exactly the level of ambition Greater Cambridge can help realise.

“I am pleased it targets high-growth sectors that will shape our country’s economic future, many of which are already being driven forward here in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“The focus on greater investment, certainty for business and stronger backing for research is crucial if we want these precious sectors to thrive.

“The aim to almost double investment in advanced manufacturing to £39 billion a year is welcome for key employers in our area.

“And the creation of a £600m world-leading health data platform, based in Cambridgeshire and in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, will put our region at the heart of AI-ready, data-driven healthcare.

“I also support the renewed focus on strengthening the Oxford to Cambridge corridor, and building innovation links with places like Manchester. These partnerships can drive national growth, and our region will play a leading role.

“However, we must also be clear-eyed. We’ve now seen a Comprehensive Spending Review, an Infrastructure Strategy, and an Industrial Strategy – but still no confirmed funding for Ely Junction. Nor for the infrastructure Cambridge needs to make growth work for the city and people who live here.

“We can’t criticise an industrial strategy for not being a transport plan, but its ambitions will be near-impossible to deliver without the infrastructure to match. Whether it’s Ely Junction or a light rail solution for Cambridge, these are the foundations we need to make national ambition a local reality. Government mustn’t take Cambridgeshire and Peterborough for granted. The north receives billions, but the East is still not taken seriously. That’s the challenge I’ll keep raising with Government.”