Alan Mak is Shadow Science & Technology Secretary. He is a former Treasury and Business Minister, and is the current MP for Havant
The speed of technological change has never been as fast as it is today. Nor will it ever be as slow again.
Growth in the science and tech sector is truly exponential, and under the last Conservative Government Britain became home to more billion-dollar tech startups (“unicorns”) than France and Germany combined. We have a record to be proud of, but we cannot be complacent. In this rapidly changing and competitive landscape, how we support and grow the sector will be vital.
Over the years I’ve written for ConHome about how Britain becomes a science and technology superpower by avoiding over-regulation and rapidly adopting the new technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as artificial intelligence. Having been appointed Shadow Science and Technology Secretary by Kemi Badenoch three weeks ago today, I wanted my first article in this new role to be published on ConHome because engaging with party members and supporters is a top priority for me.
My first three weeks have been very busy because I got stuck into the new brief straight away. In week one I convened a roundtable of top tech entrepreneurs and investors to listen to their views. I followed that up by visiting UCL’s new tech campus to meet scientists and see their world-class chemistry labs and robotics research in action, just weeks after alumni Geoffrey Hinton and Sir Demis Hassabis became the latest Britons to win Nobel Prizes for science. In the Commons Chamber last Wednesday, I challenged Labour’s Science Secretary at the Despatch Box to reverse their National Insurance Jobs Tax which will clobber our startups and tech workers.
But alongside holding Labour to account and building positive relations with the sector’s leaders, I will also be developing the longer-term Conservative approach to science and technology. That starts with our principles, reflecting the fact that our new Leader was elected on a principles-first approach, with specific policies developed over time.
So, my principles and objectives for the science and technology brief will include making Britain:
- the best place in the world to start and grow a technology business.
- a world class centre for research and innovation, including fostering more inter-disciplinary partnerships between our universities.
- the destination of choice for private sector investment into R&D, with more regional R&D clusters beyond the traditional “Golden Triangle” of Oxbridge and London.
- a pro-growth regulatory system, with a smart state (not Big Government) which avoids over-regulation; and
- a high technology adoption nation, with all parts of society including SMEs (not just large multinationals) and the public sector taking up and using the latest technologies to boost productivity.
The next five years will be vital to Britain’s economic success and our standing on the world stage. Navigating the challenges of an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape and competitive global economy will take leadership, sound investment and strategic policy making.
Only through clear-eyed deregulation, removing barriers and lifting regulatory burdens on this most important of sectors can we transform Britain into a science and technology superpower. Labour rejects this approach, so we Conservatives must show people that our alternative vision is worth voting for.
As that work begins it’s worth saying we are building on a strong Conservative record.
In Government, our Smarter Regulation approach meant making regulation a last resort, not a first choice, constantly reforming existing regulations and focusing on making sure our regulations were forward looking. This approach meant UK laws kept pace with rapid technological change, for example by reforming out-of-date EU regulations.
On top of this dynamic approach to regulation, we prioritised investment in research and development. As well as meeting our £20 billion target for research and development investment by 2025 early, we created an environment where businesses wanted to invest in UK-based R&D. As a result of this approach, business investment in R&D increased by 30%, to £49 billion this year, on our watch.
If done right, this approach to R&D supports the creation of world-beating innovation, positioning Britain as the hub of future scientific advancement so we get to the future first – and are not left trailing as other nations win the scientific arms race.
This can be done directly through measures targeted specifically at the science and technology sector. Steps we took, like reforming tax reliefs, investing £520 million in life sciences and launching the national semiconductor strategy were all aimed at boosting the industries of the future.
Promoting science and technology can also be done with indirect measures that encourage businesses to invest in the UK. For example, we launched Project Gigabit which rapidly expanded internet connectivity, and we delivered the largest business tax cut in a generation by making full expensing permanent so that businesses were incentivised to invest. These are all steps we took that fostered a pro-investment environment.
Labour has already started dismantling our approach with high taxes, more regulation and less investment.
Historically, Labour governments have a poor track record when it comes to supporting science and technology. Labour are statist, anti-innovation and spent years under-investing in R&D, which has since grown by 50% under the Conservatives. Moreover, their funding was concentrated in London and the Southeast, neglecting the rest of the country.
There is little evidence that Starmer’s government is going to buck the trend.
Despite having 14 years to come up with a plan in opposition, this is a destructive Labour government already bereft of ideas. They have no plan to support this vital sector. In fact, Labour policy is laser focused on damaging it.
For example, Labour’s approach to AI has the potential to devastate the sector by regulating it to oblivion. They have U-turned on our approach to taxation incentives as well as signalling an end to our light-touch, forward looking and dynamic approach to business regulation. Labour Ministers have proposed an EU-style model of AI regulation, where byzantine regulations have already stunted growth and incentivised globally mobile businesses away from the EU.
Indirectly, too, Labour is punishing the sector, with measures like their £40 billion tax raid at the Budget, the countless new regulations that will drown businesses in red tape and cosying up to the unions to allow them to hold employers to ransom. These all point to a bleak outlook for the science and technology sector under Labour.
Conservatives will energetically oppose all these Labour measures. We understand that turning Britain into a science and technology superpower is key to creating new jobs, spreading prosperity across the country, and boosting our economic growth.
We have already made an energetic start, and I look forward to working with Conservative members and the wider sector to turn our positive vision into reality.
Alan Mak is Shadow Science & Technology Secretary. He is a former Treasury and Business Minister, and is the current MP for Havant
The speed of technological change has never been as fast as it is today. Nor will it ever be as slow again.
Growth in the science and tech sector is truly exponential, and under the last Conservative Government Britain became home to more billion-dollar tech startups (“unicorns”) than France and Germany combined. We have a record to be proud of, but we cannot be complacent. In this rapidly changing and competitive landscape, how we support and grow the sector will be vital.
Over the years I’ve written for ConHome about how Britain becomes a science and technology superpower by avoiding over-regulation and rapidly adopting the new technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as artificial intelligence. Having been appointed Shadow Science and Technology Secretary by Kemi Badenoch three weeks ago today, I wanted my first article in this new role to be published on ConHome because engaging with party members and supporters is a top priority for me.
My first three weeks have been very busy because I got stuck into the new brief straight away. In week one I convened a roundtable of top tech entrepreneurs and investors to listen to their views. I followed that up by visiting UCL’s new tech campus to meet scientists and see their world-class chemistry labs and robotics research in action, just weeks after alumni Geoffrey Hinton and Sir Demis Hassabis became the latest Britons to win Nobel Prizes for science. In the Commons Chamber last Wednesday, I challenged Labour’s Science Secretary at the Despatch Box to reverse their National Insurance Jobs Tax which will clobber our startups and tech workers.
But alongside holding Labour to account and building positive relations with the sector’s leaders, I will also be developing the longer-term Conservative approach to science and technology. That starts with our principles, reflecting the fact that our new Leader was elected on a principles-first approach, with specific policies developed over time.
So, my principles and objectives for the science and technology brief will include making Britain:
The next five years will be vital to Britain’s economic success and our standing on the world stage. Navigating the challenges of an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape and competitive global economy will take leadership, sound investment and strategic policy making.
Only through clear-eyed deregulation, removing barriers and lifting regulatory burdens on this most important of sectors can we transform Britain into a science and technology superpower. Labour rejects this approach, so we Conservatives must show people that our alternative vision is worth voting for.
As that work begins it’s worth saying we are building on a strong Conservative record.
In Government, our Smarter Regulation approach meant making regulation a last resort, not a first choice, constantly reforming existing regulations and focusing on making sure our regulations were forward looking. This approach meant UK laws kept pace with rapid technological change, for example by reforming out-of-date EU regulations.
On top of this dynamic approach to regulation, we prioritised investment in research and development. As well as meeting our £20 billion target for research and development investment by 2025 early, we created an environment where businesses wanted to invest in UK-based R&D. As a result of this approach, business investment in R&D increased by 30%, to £49 billion this year, on our watch.
If done right, this approach to R&D supports the creation of world-beating innovation, positioning Britain as the hub of future scientific advancement so we get to the future first – and are not left trailing as other nations win the scientific arms race.
This can be done directly through measures targeted specifically at the science and technology sector. Steps we took, like reforming tax reliefs, investing £520 million in life sciences and launching the national semiconductor strategy were all aimed at boosting the industries of the future.
Promoting science and technology can also be done with indirect measures that encourage businesses to invest in the UK. For example, we launched Project Gigabit which rapidly expanded internet connectivity, and we delivered the largest business tax cut in a generation by making full expensing permanent so that businesses were incentivised to invest. These are all steps we took that fostered a pro-investment environment.
Labour has already started dismantling our approach with high taxes, more regulation and less investment.
Historically, Labour governments have a poor track record when it comes to supporting science and technology. Labour are statist, anti-innovation and spent years under-investing in R&D, which has since grown by 50% under the Conservatives. Moreover, their funding was concentrated in London and the Southeast, neglecting the rest of the country.
There is little evidence that Starmer’s government is going to buck the trend.
Despite having 14 years to come up with a plan in opposition, this is a destructive Labour government already bereft of ideas. They have no plan to support this vital sector. In fact, Labour policy is laser focused on damaging it.
For example, Labour’s approach to AI has the potential to devastate the sector by regulating it to oblivion. They have U-turned on our approach to taxation incentives as well as signalling an end to our light-touch, forward looking and dynamic approach to business regulation. Labour Ministers have proposed an EU-style model of AI regulation, where byzantine regulations have already stunted growth and incentivised globally mobile businesses away from the EU.
Indirectly, too, Labour is punishing the sector, with measures like their £40 billion tax raid at the Budget, the countless new regulations that will drown businesses in red tape and cosying up to the unions to allow them to hold employers to ransom. These all point to a bleak outlook for the science and technology sector under Labour.
Conservatives will energetically oppose all these Labour measures. We understand that turning Britain into a science and technology superpower is key to creating new jobs, spreading prosperity across the country, and boosting our economic growth.
We have already made an energetic start, and I look forward to working with Conservative members and the wider sector to turn our positive vision into reality.