Non-interventionism meets oligopolies: a bad day for the UK’s poorer regions

<p dir="ltr">Non-interventionist attempts to solve the UK’s regional problem have been unsuccessful for 30 years. This article argues that the approach to regional development set out in <i>The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy</i> is a continuation of this non-interventionism and that it too is unlikely to help the UK’s poorer regions, just like a similar approach has not worked in Germany. This is because it does not take into account the power of large, oligopolistic firms. The article sets out an Alternative Industrial Strategy approach, based on the understanding that, in order to reduce regional disparities, the of these firms needs to be tackled.</p>