In a bold move, UK Business Secretary Peter Kyle has declared that he is “betting big” and “picking winners” as the government takes a more proactive approach to driving economic growth. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kyle outlined the government’s strategy to scale up promising businesses, attract overseas investors, and support the UK’s poorer regions.
“I want to make sure that the benefits of growth are felt quicker than is currently the case,” said Kyle. “We’re predicted to grow 1.5% this year. That is not enough.” To accelerate growth, the government has empowered the state-owned British Business Bank to take equity stakes in companies, including a recent £25 million investment in the energy supplier Octopus’s software spin-off, Kraken.
Kyle believes the “most potential” lies in scale-up companies, citing Octopus’s rapid expansion to 1,500 employees in London alone. “We can find other companies that are on that kind of trajectory and we can expedite their growth. Then it will create thousands of new jobs, and it will create enormous amounts of wealth, which will recycle through the economy in a really fast way.”
Acknowledging that this “more activist” approach carries risks, Kyle said, “To have a healthy economy, failure leads to success.” He emphasised the need to support poorer communities that have been left behind, warning, “There will be kids growing up like me that will not end up becoming successful like I have. It’ll be communities that, at the moment, are poor, and they will never have a hope of becoming prosperous. And I won’t stand for it.”
The business secretary also highlighted the government’s efforts to attract top global talent, including a beefed-up “global talent taskforce” to lure skilled workers and entrepreneurs to the UK. “I will suck the best talent in from wherever it exists, and talent goes both ways across the Atlantic,” he said, positioning the UK as a more attractive destination than the US, which he believes has become “disruptive with tariffs” and less friendly to scientific endeavours.
Despite the UK’s recent tough stance on immigration, Kyle insisted that there is no public scepticism about welcoming wealthy investors and entrepreneurs. “People are deeply concerned about the immigration system we inherited, and the asylum system, which was overwhelmed, and was poorly administered by the Tories, and therefore broken,” he said. “I’ve never had anybody that says that people with a lot of money to invest in our country, who want to come here and create jobs, create businesses, shouldn’t be coming to do so.”
As the UK government navigates the uncertain global economic landscape, Kyle’s ambitious and interventionist approach aims to position the country as a hub for innovation, investment, and inclusive growth.
