It's this kind of stuff that should be powering the good ship 'Britain'

I love this kind of news about a small manufacturer (I couldn't give a stuff about royal pageants).

It turns out the Gloriana - that £1million, 94ft royal rowbarge built for the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant (3 June) - will have help from a marine drive system supplied by British high performance DC motor company LMC Ltd, based down in Honiton, Devon.

Despite being a "rowbarge", the motors were installed to make it smoother and more efficient to manoeuvre the Gloriana in and out of its moorings, and to help combat strong currents if necessary. They provide over 90% efficiency with zero carbon emissions, are silent and lightweight, and have been designed to re-charge the batteries when they're not driving the boat. In the case of the Gloriana this is done using kinetic energy from the boat's movement through the water.

LMC motors and generators are used in all sorts of applications, including vehicles, aerospace, and industrial, experimental & developmental tech projects, such as the high-speed French sailboat l'Hydroptère or electric motorbikes like the Agility Saietta.

The point is, LMC make stuff. High-tech, efficient, cutting edge stuff. They add value in real life.

This country's government has to ignore its public school chums, their money and their lobby teams, and re-align its focus, support, attention and political priorities away from the City of London casinos to little tech companies like LMC - because they, actually, are what make the wheels go round.