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Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Part of UK in Sweden

27th September 2013

Aiming for longer term growth: the UK’s Industrial Strategy

When our Business Minister, Vince Cable, was here this week, he talked a lot about the UK’s Industrial Strategy.

As he noted, to some ears this sounds rather old-fashioned. In fact it’s the opposite, it’s an attempt to create long term plans to tackle some of the sources of recent economic weakness and instability in the UK, and in doing so, perhaps, to learn lessons from more successful European and Asian experiences.

It’s intended to help rebalance the UK economy and make us even more attractive to foreign investors.

The Industrial Strategy is based on recognition that, to invest and grow, business needs long term certainty. The Strategy is based on a few principles: acting long term, in partnership with business, with a whole of Government approach to developing the confidence to invest. It includes five areas: key sectors, technologies, access to finance, skills and procurement.

We’ve focussed on 11 sectors based on size and opportunity for future economic growth and employment; barriers to growth; and scope for Government action – the Analysis behind this was published in September 2012.

So far we have published strategies for: ‘Life Science, Aerospace, Nuclear, Oil and Gas, Information Economy, Construction, Professional and Business Services, Automotive, Agri-tech, Education and Offshore Wind Energy.

We are investing in emerging technologies, where the UK has the depth of research expertise and the business capability to develop and exploit these. This includes £600 million to support eight great technologies.

Access to Finance: we are setting up a Government-backed Business Bank which will receive £1bn of new Government funding.

Skills: a £100m employer ownership fund has been created to co-finance investment in skills in key sectors and new technologies.

Procurement: we have updated procurement pipelines covering a range of sectors. The potential contract opportunities from Government and local authorities are now worth nearly £79 billion.

So, for investors in Sweden thinking about the UK, check out the investments we’re making in our economic future.

About Paul Johnston

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially. He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide…

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially.

He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide range of political and security roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Paul joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993 as Desk Officer for Bosnia. As part of this role he was also Private Secretary to EU negotiator Lord Owen and his representative on Bosnia Contact Group.

His first foreign posting was to Paris in 1995-99 as Second Secretary Political. He was Private Secretary to the Ambassador and latterly part of the UK delegation to the Kosovo Rambouillet negotiations. Then he returned to London as Head of the Kosovo Policy Team, leading work on post-conflict policy in the EU, NATO, UN and G8.

Before his second overseas posting to New York in 2005, Paul held a variety of other EU policy and security appointments in London, such as Head of European Defence Section between 2000-01 and Head of Security Policy Department between 2002-04.

As Head of the Political Section in UKMIS New York, he advised on major policy issues for the UK on the Security Council and the UN World Summit, including the UK EU Presidency in 2005.

Paul returned to London in 2008 as Director, International Security for the FCO. He was responsible for policy on UN, NATO, European Security, arms control and disarmament, human rights and good governance.

Paul was British Ambassador to Sweden from August 2011 to August 2015 and then was Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO.

He was UK Ambassador to the EU for Political and Security affairs from 2017 to January 2020 and became Ambassador to Ireland in September 2020.

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