Labour’s ambition for a new settlement for the digital age

I’m delighted to be Parliamentary Tech Champion this month, coming hot on the heels of my Labour Conference speech, where I announced Labour’s ambition for a new settlement for the digital age to propel Britain into the future so we can build a high tech economy that works for all not just the tech giants.

Whilst the first phase of the digital era has seen huge opportunities open up to spread knowledge and connectivity, it has also seen power and influence amass in the hands of a few, creating large monopolies and seeing our lives shaped by opaque algorithms and data.

The failure of the Conservatives to move forward with tech Bills means that we continue to have analogue regulation for the digital age, with key pieces of legislation from the Online Harms Bill, to the Digital Markets Unit, to the Data Bill all in deep freeze.

The big question for the new digital era is who benefits?

Labour will end the era of trickle down technology. We want to see digital technology and opportunity fairly shared. We will engage and enlist tech innovators, businesses, entrepreneurs, civil society, academics, trade unions and others to look at how we meet this mission.

We will put an end to workers being at the wrong end of automation and instead ensure its a tool for their prospects to improve.  

We will ensure we have world-leading digital infrastructure, with every home connected, and lead the race on industrial 5G which we can’t deliver that without decent pay and conditions for telecoms workers.

We will draw up world leading regulation opening up data and unleashing small businesses to spread wealth.

We will upskill our workforce and citizens, so that we become a tech savvy society. We will ensure we have cyber resilience and security against rogue states and actors.

Harnessing and shaping the digital age

In Liverpool I pledged that harnessing and shaping the digital age for the many will be a driving agenda of the next Labour Government.

Just as Britain led the world in the industrial revolution, I want Britain to lead the Digital Revolution.

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