What the TECH?
A look at what this election could mean for the technology sector
Cicero Group | December 2019
What the TECH was in the manifestos? Technology and innovation were a theme in all of the major manifestos with each Party professing a desire to take the UK into a future technological revolution. Broadband was almost certainly at the top of the policy charts, with all four major Parties promising the roll out of full fibre broadband and increased internet connectivity to all corners of the UK by 2030. Labour has even promised to renationalise BT in order to deliver this. While the ambition and execution of each Party’s broadband policy may differ, it seems all Parties, whether explicitly or tacitly, believe internet access should now be considered a basic utility available to all. For the digital economy, the promise of increased internet access should be a cause for celebration. More people online means more potential users, customers and shoppers to target. As well as enhancing access and speeds, all major Parties want to ensure our online experiences happen in a safe environment, with each committing itself to tackling the scourge of ‘online harms’, particularly for children. The SNP has even gone as far as to promise the introduction of a new ‘online regulator’ to impose fines and block access to offending platforms, something the previous Conservative Government had only begun to consult on.
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The number of times ‘technology’ and ‘innovation’ were referenced across the Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and SNP manifestos.
Away from the internet, it’s clear each Party wants the UK to also lead the world in innovative research and manufacturing. Here, traditional Party ideologies appear to play more of a role. Labour is clear that the adoption of innovation must not come at the expense of the current workforce, whereas the Conservatives are seemingly keener to embrace the jobs “transformation” created by innovation, with promises to make the UK a leading force in future industries such as life sciences, clean energy, space, design and robotics. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats are the only Party who talk at length about the importance of ‘tech ethics’. Their plans to introduce a code of ethics for artificial intelligence and give the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) more ‘teeth’ touches on many of the themes discussed by current sector regulators.
While technology and innovation, in the broadest sense, got a warm billing from across the major Parties, the digital services sector may have cause for greater concern. Regardless of which Party gets the keys to No.10 in ciceroelections.com
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What the TECH?
December, it appears that the tax collectors are coming for the digital platforms and large multinational techs, such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. Given broader international efforts to levy tax upon the online world, this should not come as a surprise. However, it’s important to take note of how aggressively each Party plans to pursue the revenues of the online giants. For example, Labour plans to use their ‘tech tax’ to fund their ambitious spending and renationalisation programme, while the Lib Dems plan to triple the tax rate, proposed by the previous Conservative Government, from 2% to 6%.
Announcements that caught our eye Labour: Free superfast broadband for all by 2030 Labour: Charter of Digital Rights SNP: New Online Regulator Liberal Democrats: Introduction of the ‘Lovelace’ Code of Ethics for data 13%
Conservatives: Increase R&D tax credit rate to 13% (currently 11%)
What the TECH does this all mean? Regardless of their political ideology, all major Parties want to promote the tech sector and allow innovation to flourish. Whether you’re an innovative manufacturer, a biotech startup or a leader in digital services, this should be a welcome signal. However, the sector must remain cautious in its approach. While any future Government will want to promote the UK tech sector, a degree of scepticism over the merits of tech and the broader benefits of innovation remain rooted within some Parties. For example, it’s clear that the Labour Party remains concerned about the impact future innovation will have on jobs. The days of championing technology and innovation for the sake of it are gone and, like any other sector, it’s incumbent on the techs to prove their importance to each Party’s vision for the UK.
Who the TECH: which candidates could be important for the sector? Darren Jones Labour Bristol North West Jones was elected as the MP for Bristol North West in 2017, winning the seat from the Conservative incumbent. Although new to Parliament, Jones was quick to establish himself as a leader in tech through his work with the Parliamentary Commission on Technology Ethics. Through this role, Jones sought to understand how Parliament could better keep pace with innovation and ensure ‘ethics’ remained central in the design of new technologies. If Jones is successful in retaining his seat, you can expect more from him in this area particularly as considerations around the interaction between ‘tech’ and ‘ethics’ continue to develop. Damian Collins Conservative Folkstone and Hythe Collins has been the MP for Folkstone and Hythe since 2010. In this time, he has successfully established himself as a leading interrogator of the tech sector through his role as Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee. The Committee’s 2019 report into ‘fake news’ in the wake of the Facebook / Cambridge Analytica scandal provided a damning assessment of social media and called for the Government to establish a ‘code of ethics’ for big tech. If re-elected as an MP and returned as Chair of the Select Committee, we can expect Collins to continue his keen scrutiny of the tech sector, particularly in light of the criticism aimed at the likes of Facebook and Twitter for the role they have played in facilitating political advertising during this current election. ciceroelections.com
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What the TECH?
Lee Rowley Conservative North East Derbyshire Rowley has been the MP for North East Derbyshire since 2017. In his short time in Parliament, he has made a significant impact in raising the profile of issues related to technology and innovation. Alongside Darren Jones, Rowley Co-Chairs the Parliamentary Commission on Technology Ethics. He also works alongside Labour MP, Daniel Zeichner who is chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on data analytics, co-chairing the Data and Technology Ethics Inquiry. Rowley has stressed the importance of establishing universal principles in tech ethics, and advocates establishing an “appropriate� framework sooner rather than later. Daniel Zeichner Labour Cambridge Zeichner started his working life in IT as a computer programmer, working for both the public and private sector, and eventually running his own IT business. In Parliament, he has consistently championed tech and innovation. He is the Chair of the APPG on data analytics. Recently, he has highlighted the importance of further research and development in the tech space and said that any future outside of the EU should prioritise the maintenance of standards and participation in innovative EU research.
Nicola Horlick Liberal Democrat Chelsea & Fulham Horlick is running in the Conservative held Chelsea and Fulham constituency. The seat is currently held by Greg Hands, former International Trade Minister. Horlick has had a successful career in investment management, starting and directing her own Asset Management fund. She has since founded and led Money&Co, a digital marketplace lending business that focuses on business loans. She is also the Chairman of film finance fund Glentham Capital, which raised its funds on the crowdfunding platform, Seedrs. If elected, she would likely demonstrate an interest in FinTech and digital platforms in Parliament. Flick Drummond Conservative The Meon Valley Drummond was announced as the prospective parliamentary candidate to represent The Meon Valley in November. She replaces the incumbent Conservative MP, George Hollingbery, who held a comfortable 47.4% majority in the seat. Drummond was previously the MP for Portsmouth South from 2015 until 2017 and was considered a rising star of the Party. She established the Cybersecurity APPG, which seeks to address developments in cyber security systems and technologies as they relate to the UK economy. In her time in Parliament, she supported a number of schemes and events related to tech-start-ups and innovation incubators, such as the SETsquared Partnership. If elected to this Conservative safe seat, Drummond would likely pick back up on tech and cyber security issues.
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What the TECH?
The Parties’ announcements: compare and contrast
Which areas are they focused on?
CONSERVATIVES
LABOUR
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY
Broadband, healthcare, skills & talent, biotech and life sciences, climate change and protection.
Broadband, healthcare, climate change, cybersecurity, digital rights and protection and taxation.
Broadband, climate change, skills, ethics, investment.
Broadband, online protection and climate change.
Specific policies in detail Press the UK Government to invest in digital connectivity including superfast broadband and 5G technology.
Broadband & connectivity
Bring full fibre and gigabit-capable broadband to every home and business across the UK by 2025.
Deliver free full-fibre broadband to all by 2030, establishing British Broadband.
Establish a programme of installing hyper-fast, fibre-optic broadband across the UK – with a particular focus on connecting rural areas.
Press for Scotland to get its fair share of the £5 billion UK Government funding to roll out gigabit broadband to the hardest to reach areas. Work with broadband and mobile service providers to make more affordable tariffs and packages more widely available – and call for the UK Government to legislate for a social tariff.
Increase national R&D spending to meet the target of 2.4% of GDP. Research & development
Target for 3% of GDP to be spent on R&D by 2030. Increase the R&D tax credit rate to 13% and review the definition of R&D to support investments in cloud computing and data to boost productivity.
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Support the growth of new jobs and businesses in the tech sector by allowing companies to claim R&D tax credits against the cost of purchasing datasets and cloud computing, simplifying the regulatory landscape and speeding up regulatory change. Increase national spending on R&D to 3% of GDP with an interim target of 2.4% of GDP by 2027.
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What the TECH?
CONSERVATIVES
LABOUR
Introduce a Charter of Digital Rights and enforce a legal duty of care to protect children online and impose fines on companies that fail on online abuse.
Digital protection/ ethics
Digital services tax
Introduce legislation to make the UK the ‘safest place in the world to be online’ while protecting freedom of expression.
Implement the Digital Services Tax at a rate of 2%.
Ensure data protection for NHS and patient information and encourage better use of this data as a resource for diagnosis of conditions and research.
Implement a ‘tech tax’ on largest tech multinationals. This will be used primarily to pay for the provision of free broadband.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY
Introduce a ‘Lovelace’ Code of Ethics to ensure the use of personal data and artificial intelligence is unbiased, transparent and accurate, and respects privacy.
Support new laws to protect children from online harms, including new standards to be put in place for social media, gaming and technology organisations, a statutory duty of care and mandatory obligations to tackle unsuitable content.
Give the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) the power to ‘call in’ products that appear to breach this Code.
Appointment of a new, independent Online Regulator with the ability to take steps such as imposing heavy fines and blocking access to sites.
Introduce a kitemark for companies that meet the highest ethical standards in their development and use of artificial intelligence and other new technologies.
Press the UK Government to introduce free and up-to-date expert resources to help protect people and support learning about online harm and abusive behaviour and how to report it.
Implement the Digital Services Tax at a rate of 6%.
Introduction of a ‘levy’ on technology companies to fund the sector’s regulator.
Get in touch... If you would like to speak to us about this document or how we can support your organisation, please do contact one of our tech specialists: Luke Seaman Head of Tech & Innovation Luke.Seaman@cicero-group.com +44 (0)20 7297 5950
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Arabella Hamilton Account Executive Arabella.Hamilton@cicero-group.com +44 (0)20 3841 9358
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