This paper from the 2025–26 Heywood Fellowship team provides an overview of how the UK government has done economic statecraft before.

These four case studies show examples from the 1960s to the 1980s of when the UK engaged in international industrial collaborations, strategic regulation of new technology and innovated on the relationship between business and the state. Through its approach to uranium enrichment, the International Energy Agency, Eurodollars and golden shares, the UK has navigated challenging domestic and international contexts with clear economic strategy.