British Prime Minister and current Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak (left) and opposition Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer. Politicians went toe-to-toe on Tuesday in the first face-to-face debate ahead of the July 4 election.
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LONDON – British technology executives and entrepreneurs want the next government to focus on improving skills in developing and using artificial intelligence and on growth-oriented fiscal measures.
Britons will go to the polls on July 4th.
The business community has been calling on both major parties to drive economic growth, a regulatory environment that accommodates technological innovation and a long-term vision that cements the UK’s place on the world stage.
They say the next government, whether it’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak or Labor leader Keir Starmer entering Downing Street, is likely to have the interests of high-growth technology companies at heart.
Skill improvement in the era of artificial intelligence
One thing the UK’s tech brass are pushing for is promoting AI innovation and developing citizen mastery of AI-centric skills – across generations.
Top tech executives told CNBC that helping us better master large-scale language models and other next-generation artificial intelligence tools, rather than losing control of these tools and being controlled by them, should be a key focus of any government.
Innovation is rapidly moving toward autonomous artificial intelligence. We need to have the skills in this country…to be able to adopt and use it responsibly, with the right controls and protocols in place.
Zahra Barolomi
CEO of Salesforce UK and Ireland
exist salesperson’s World Tour London is a tech conference where the US enterprise software giant hosted several major customers and partners, with new technologies such as artificial intelligence driving growth and prosperity a key theme.
At a press conference on the sidelines of the event, where in addition to the two mascots Einstein and Astro, a raccoon character guided users through Salesforce’s customer relationship management tool, the company’s British boss spelled out her plans for the next event Expect administration.
“As with any government, I will be specific and I will bang this drum: one in 10 of us feel equipped with artificial intelligence. Innovation is moving rapidly towards autonomous artificial intelligence. We need to have the skills in this country …In order to be able to do this, Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO of Salesforce UK and Ireland, said in response to a question from CNBC:
“Any government will realize this, most major parties will,” she added. “That would be on my wish list – if there was one thing to prioritize, (it would be) digital skills.”
Matthew Houlihan, senior director of government and corporate affairs for the UK and Europe at US enterprise technology company Cisco, said the next government should strive to make the UK a leader in innovative and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
“This should also be an excellent time to review our approach to fundamental aspects of the UK’s digital economy, such as digital skills, technology adoption support and security approaches, to ensure that the benefits of digital technology are felt by as many people as possible across the country. Where possible,” he added.
Political leanings
Many technology executives remain tight-lipped about which candidate will be on the July 4th ballot, but more and more are becoming public about their political affiliations.
Last month, dozens of business executives, entrepreneurs and investors Signed an open letter expressing their support for Labor in the upcoming election. “As leaders and investors in the UK business community, we believe now is the time to make a change,” they said in a statement. letter.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer and Deputy Leader Angela Rayner attend the event in Purver, UK on May 16, 2024 Labour’s election pledge presentation at the Little Backstage Centre.
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Signatories include several influential figures in the UK tech scene: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, Founders Forum co-founder Jonathan Goodwin and Atom Bank CEO Mark Mullen.
The letter’s authors say the UK economy has experienced a decade of stagnation due to a lack of political stability and a coherent economic strategy.
Britain’s Sunak said it would “take time” for ordinary people to “truly feel” the economy’s upward momentum.
Data released earlier this year showed that Britain’s gross domestic product grew by 0.6% from January to March after falling into a shallow recession in the second half of 2023.
end uncertainty
The UK has experienced exceptional adversity and economic instability over the past four years – from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and conflict in Ukraine on global supply chains, to rising costs of living for consumers and businesses.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left) and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt (right) visit BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness, England, on March 25, 2024.
Danny Lawson | Wpa Pool | Getty Images
Rishi Khosla, chief executive of UK Digital, said: “In the past two years, both sides have reached substantial consensus on the fact that business is critical to national development – business is important, fintech is important, Entrepreneurship is also important.
“We strongly hope that whichever party comes to power will stay the course and make sure that they not only stay the course on the narrative but also on the things they do, whether it’s immigration, taxes, whether they don’t do it. Creation is not conducive to environment for populist measures,” Khosla said.
Focus on presentation and lack of details
One source of frustration among UK tech leaders remains that neither major political party has yet explained how they will promote business, let alone the startup community and high-growth tech industry.
Tech bosses interviewed by CNBC found they couldn’t point to specific policies and plans from either major party.
UK Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt recently announced a raft of new tax breaks and investment measures which he said would help make the UK a world leader in high-growth industries.
In his statement, Hunt hinted that if the Conservatives are re-elected, he will introduce new tax cuts. Interviewed by The Telegraph Priorities will be “business tax to promote investment” and growth. However, he did not reveal further details about his plans.
Labor has previously pledged to limit the overall rate of corporation tax to the current 25% and confirmed that certain tax reliefs will be maintained, including those for full expenses and research and development (R&D).
Labor says it will publish a business tax roadmap if elected.
—CNBC’s Jenni Reid contributed to this report
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