Labour’s shadow science, innovation, and technology secretary has unveiled Labour’s manifesto for the UK’s tech sector, including relaxing planning policies for data centres, ramping up procurement support, toughening AI regulations and creating a national data library.
Peter Kyle told an audience at London Tech Week.on Wednesday: “Britain is uniquely positioned to benefit from new technologies like AI.” He added that Labour would “place technology at the heart of our missions and unblock tech barriers to restart the engine of our economy.”
As part of its ambitions, Labour wants to amend planning policies to enable the construction of more data centres, particularly on the green belt, bypassing local council opposition.
By classifying data centres as nationally significant infrastructure projects, Labour plans to address a current shortage and meet the growing demand for cloud computing and AI.
A plan to build a data centre on a former quarry next to the M25 was shunned by the government last year, partly due to its potential to ruin the view from the motorway’s bridges.
“Under the Conservatives, the planning system has become a handbrake on businesses,” said Kyle.
In addition to easing planning restrictions, Labour plans to reform procurement rules, making it easier for start-ups to bid for government contracts.
Small businesses have been “locked out of the procurement system,” being left to face an increasing number of requirements, micromanagement, and red tape, Kyle said.
Labour’s tech strategy also includes the establishment of a Regulatory Innovation Office designed to improve accountability and promote cross-sector innovation in regulation. They also plan to make current voluntary AI safety rules legally binding, putting them on a “statutory footing”.
“We would legislate to require the frontier AI labs to release their safety data,” Kyle explained. “That’s to make sure we legislate the standards that are already in the voluntary code.
“We don’t seek to disrupt the voluntary code, but we will certainly will make sure [the standards] are maintained and that any new entrants into the market will know that there’s a legislative foundation that must be adhered to,” he added.
Kyle also announced plans for a “national data library” to centralise existing government research programs, enhancing scientists’ and academics’ access to public sector data.
The idea, put forward by Conservative think tank Onward, has been backed by a number of business groups and MPs. A recent report by Onward said a British data libarary would allow startups and scientists to easily access the data needed to build AI models, attracting talent and investment to Britain.
It comes after an open letter from 50 UK tech groups and sector leaders recently endorsed Labour, saying “we need a government that will empower us to rise to these new challenges.”