Beer, bread and bombs: why industrial foundations matter

In 2018, Britain started running short of beer. The cause was not breweries, hops or malt. It was carbon dioxide, and one of the reasons for the shortage was that fertiliser plants had stopped making fertiliser. That strange connection is the starting point for this episode of How We Build Britain. From Billingham on the Tees to Bishopton in Renfrewshire, this is a story about the industrial foundations beneath everyday life: the chemicals, materials, skills and production capabilities that connect food, manufacturing and national security. It is also a story about what happens when commercially rational decisions gradually remove capabilities whose wider value is much harder to measure, and why Britain is now investing to rebuild some of them. In this episode, Rob explores the connections between beer, bread and bombs, and asks a bigger question for UK reindustrialisation: How do we decide which industrial capabilities matter before we discover their value by losing them? How We Build Britain is independently produced. The views expressed are Rob Gilbert’s own and do not represent Baringa, Great British Energy or the UK Government. If you have questions, comments or suggestions - please send us a mail