We need to invest in science and Engineering skills that will benefit both the country and the balance of payments. Anything else we do, be it a high speed West coast line or work-at-home broadband will involved importing products and skills and will merely benefit our competitors.
Actually learning or rather relearning to grow our own food and doing so would possibly be a better bet at this point.
Excellent idea! 
And we can simply import all the machinery and technology that we need from countries that don't rely on 'services' for most of their GDP... 
Well we aren't going to catch up now are we? We let it all get away from us donkey's years ago when we were still paying the Yanks for their help in WWII ~ meanwhile Japan and Germany were streaking ahead on the tech and manufacturing side. Now India and China have beaten us to the catch up game. We don't have the resources or the educational back up to do it. Accept that and look for other openings. We can't turn the clock back. Look at the ridiculous nonsense helping the French to pay for their Global Positioning System when the Yanks already have one that works and we are currently using it. Look at the Chinooks that we bought eight years ago ~ still at RAF Odiham, unflyable because we wanted to build our own software instead of using the stuff the Yanks offered to sell us .... so far we have spent twice what the Yanks wanted for the stuff that worked and we are still an estimated five years away from getting it them in the air and operational.
Now look at the current and future crop of politicians ..... Where is your Churchill? Where is your Thatcher? Where is your William Pitt? For God's sake we can't even find a MacMillan amongst them. Where are the people who will lead us out of this. I'm not asking for Moses but even Mussolini made the railways run on time.And what do we have on offer? Ed Balls? Call me Dave? Compo, Foggy and Clegg? Jesus Christ Almighty is that the best we can do??????
No, I'm sorry but Napoleon called us a "Nation of Shopkeepers" and that is now our destiny. We can mind the shop, sell the banking services and the insurance and live off the crumbs that fall from other's tables. Uncle Mort knows this. He is in shipping, where do the ships come from these days? Not Jarrow or Clydeside that's for sure.
Washing Machines? None made in Wales now. That factory closed down two weeks ago ~ mind it wasn't British owned either.
Slates for your roof? Wales is full of the bloody stuff but people import it from China because it's cheaper. Says it all really.
You did right to get out and I am telling my kids that is their only hope. They must learn portable skills and get out whilst they can.
AND NOW IT'S FVCKING RAINING AGAIN!
