I was watching Great British Railway Journeys the other night.
For those interested, it was Episode 12, Season 16, Ironbridge to Coseley.
During the episode, Michael Portillo was visiting the Victorian Living Museum, right in the heart of the Black Country, a place I know well.
He spoke to a historian about the world’s first steam locomotive, designed by Richard Trevithick, and the region’s once unmatched engineering prowess.
At one point, the historian said something that struck a chord with me,
“In the 18th century, this area was the Silicon Valley of its day. People would come from all over the world to see what was going on so they could steal all the ideas.”
That line hit me more than anything, because it’s true.
The Black Country was the beating heart of global innovation. Steam, iron, engines, machines, Britain was the industrial revolution.
So, here’s my question: what happened?
Where did that spirit of invention go?
Did it ever go? After all, still some of the greatest minds, and innovation does take place in the UK. They don’t call Cambridge, London and Oxford the “Golden Triangle” for nothing.
But clearly something is amiss, and the US is stealing the modern world’s innovation and invention plaudits.
Can the UK ever regain that title? Can it come back?
A Tale of Three Headlines
Let’s jump to today.
To illustrate the problem, I’m going to show you three pictures. Don’t worry, there’s no Freudian psychoanalysis here, just three headlines and an image from the week.
First off…
The next,
And finally,
And I should add, I also saw Prime Minister Starmer on my social feeds, bigging himself up about having secured 20,000 jobs from Turkey somehow.
Forgive me, but why on earth are key members of the government, including the PM, flying halfway around the world to find jobs?
How about starting with the UK itself?
Where are the plans for building the next great British industry? Where are the Trevithicks of today?
Where is the innovation support and industry platforms that will bring back that soul of what the UK was in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries?
Instead, it’s got a government that seems more interested in chasing photo-ops abroad than rebuilding industry on domestic shores.
Meanwhile, across the pond…
Contrast that with what’s happening in the U.S.
Love it or loathe it, America is on a mission, quite literally, to Make America Great Again.
You don’t have to agree with the politics to see what’s unfolding. In fact, you might despise the current administration and their actions.
But you can’t deny the U.S. is pouring billions and trillions into investment into AI, quantum computing, robotics, and energy infrastructure all while bringing manufacturing back home.
Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia are building billion-dollar data centres at record pace. Trump’s administration is courting investment in quantum technologies, semiconductor fabs, and domestic energy production.
They’re backing themselves, and it shows.
It’s the US defining the next industrial revolution. From AI factories to quantum labs, the new Silicon Valleys are multiplying and they’re all US based.
That’s why, as investors, our focus is primarily on the on the US market right now. It’s not because we’re blind to opportunities in Britain, there are some, but because the overwhelming potential is flowing from America.
It’s just a fact of the current state of the market, that’s where all the action is.
MUGA: Make the UK Great Again
It’s high time the UK took a leaf out of that playbook.
Maybe the idea of MUGA (Make the UK Great Again) isn’t such a bad idea.
Maybe it’s time the UK turned inwards and thought of itself first, others later.
But that means creating the conditions where invention can thrive again.
Affordable energy, incentives for innovation, support for engineers, scientists, and manufacturers, the people who build things.
Because the truth is, Britain still has world-class talent.
You think Cambridge, London and Oxford are called the “Golden Triangle” because there’s a cracking Chinese takeaway?
No, it’s where world class universities, ideas, creativity and research take place.
What is lacking though, is leadership with the courage to prioritise industrial sovereignty over political optics.
So, is it too late to right the ship?
I don’t think so.
History shows that industrial turnarounds can happen fast when the public and private sectors pull in the same direction.
The US is proving it right now. But it requires something the UK seems to have lost… belief.
Belief that the UK can once again lead in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, aerospace, materials science, and AI.
The first step is recognising the lead has been lost. The second is refusing to accept that it must stay that way.
Maybe, just maybe, in ten years’ time, we’ll look back and say that this was the moment Britain rediscovered its spark. The moment we stopped exporting jobs, losing talent and started exporting innovation again and retaining the best in the world.
Until then, the investment story remains clear for us.
The U.S. is where the action is. It’s where the money’s flowing, the technology’s building, and the next industrial revolution is being forged.
But maybe if Britain rediscovers that Black Country spirit… then perhaps one day soon, we won’t just be watching history, Britain will be making it again.
Until next time,
Sam Volkering
Contributing Editor, Investor’s Daily
P.S. Britain once led the world in invention — now it’s America setting the pace again. That’s why, this Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, I’m watching a major U.S. tech move that could redefine the next industrial era. If Apple confirms the possible acquisition I’m tracking, or some other market moving event comes about, it could ignite a vertical move in one small company at the centre of it all. Don’t miss your chance to see the details before the announcement – click here to get on the list before the deadline.
