Skip to content
Premium Symbol Premium

Labour’s tech vision is encouraging, but it must heed startups’ advice

Peter Kyle sets out Labour's tech and AI policy approach.
Image credit: Hannah MacGregor / techUK

Peter Kyle is the new secretary of state for science, innovation and technology and I bet his inbox must be groaning. A new government that has been waiting in the wings for 14 years is keen to govern differently, and tech looks like it may play a pivotal role. He will have no shortage of advice.

One of the sagest pieces of counsel came from ex-prime minister and Labour grandee Tony Blair, who recently said that the future of politics will not be about tax or spending but about understanding AI. That should be music to Kier Starmer’s ears – there isn’t much money in the pot and Labour will not be popular if it raises taxes so why not try a different tack?

This won’t mean the government consulting a HAL-like black box on all aspects of policy. Not just yet anyway. But it may mean that key public services such as the NHS are finally dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, something that is long overdue. AI used correctly has the power not only to make the NHS more efficient but also to find treatments for chronic disease....