Labour Party manifesto: What's in it for tech?
Labour's industrial strategy revolves around clean energy and harnessing data for the public good
The Labour Party has unveiled a comprehensive industrial strategy in its manifesto today, aiming, it says to make the UK the “best place to start and grow a business”.
The party's focus is on supporting innovation, investment, and creating "650,000 high-quality jobs", which it plans to achieve through measures designed to simplify procurement processes and improve access to resources.
Industrial strategy
Labour's industrial strategy revolves around clean energy and harnessing data for the public good.
The strategy includes measures to support the development of AI, remove planning barriers to new datacentres, and the creation of a National Data Library to support data-driven public services.
Measures to ease restrictions on the building of new datacentres will likely prove controversial in some areas, due to their size and power and water demands.
Long frustrated by the failure of government to grasp this nettle, Philip Kaye, co-founder and director at data centre provider Vesper Technologies, called it "long overdue" and "a step in the right direction to take advantage of the AI revolution." However, he said it will require parallel investment in renewable power and cooling technologies to offset the environmental impact of the new facilities.
Labour aims to make the UK a "clean energy superpower," saying it will move to zero-carbon electricity by 2030, with a doubling of onshore wind, tripling of solar power and quadrupling of offshore wind.
It also plans a "renewed push" to roll out gigabit broadband and 5G coverage nationally by the same year.
Unlike the Liberal Democrats, Labour's manifesto does not focus on IT in the NHS, but the it does mention the need to replace "ageing machines operating for long after they should" with "state of the art scanners with embedded AI."
Plans for AI
Labour pledges to support the development of the AI sector, and also to regulate the "handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models' and banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes.
Emma Woollcott, partner and head of the reputation protection and crisis management group at law firm Mishcon de Reya, said the Labour approach (which has something in common with Europe's) is in contrast to the Tories' "vaguer manifesto statement that they are 'leading global work on AI safety'". She noted that the deep fake pledge echoed government proposals that were dropped when the election was called, and said it would be welcomed.
Help for SMEs
In its manifesto Labour says it will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25%, and will clarify the allowances system for small companies. The party also plans to reform the British Business Bank, which was set up to support small businesses, to make it easier for them to access capital, particularly in the "regions and nations".
Late payments, a significant issue for SMEs, will be addressed to ensure that small businesses and the self-employed are paid on time. Procurement rules will also be reformed to give SMEs greater access to government contracts.
The latter provision was welcomed by Mark Boost, CEO of UK cloud provider Civo, who said it represented the levelling of a playing field that has long favoured big tech firms in government contracts.
"Unmooring the public sector from Silicon Valley can only be a benefit. The UK has one of the strongest tech sectors in the world, an industry that continues to grow despite recent economic challenges. Why not capitalise on the talent we have over here, instead of awarding huge contracts to large US tech confirms that have no stake in the direction of the nation?"
Labour's manifesto also talks of investing in new technology at HMRC, which the party sees as central to dealing with "unfairness in the tax system," including tackling tax avoidance.
Supporting startups and innovation
Labour's manifesto mentions a few measures to support startups and innovation. The party plans to work with universities to support spinouts and with industry to ensure startups have the access to finance they need to grow.
It says it will create a "pro-innovation regulatory framework", including a new Regulatory Innovation Office to help regulators update legislation, speed up approval timelines, and coordinate issues that span existing boundaries.
In common with the manifestos released by the other parties so far, Labour makes scant mention of cybersecurity challenges, but says it will conduct a Strategic Defence Review within its first year in government.