Channel reacts as Rishi Sunak appointed PM
Calls for new PM to make good on pledge to make UK a 'science and technology superpower'
Rishi Sunak's appointment as UK prime minister has drawn comments from various quarters of the channel and tech industry, with some hailing his arrival in Number 10 as a historic moment for diversity and others urging him to put tech at the centre of his premiership.
Sunak this morning warned that the country faces a "profound economic crisis" as he returned from Buckingham Palace having accepted King Charles' invitation to form a government.
He is the third Prime Minister inside two months, the first Hindu PM, the first of Asian heritage and - at 42 - the youngest for more than 200 years.
He also boasts family ties to the tech industry, having since 2009 been married to the daughter of Narayana Murthy, the founder of Indian IT services giant Infosys.
'A momentous day'
Various industry figures were quick to hail the symbolic importance of Sunak's elevation to the highest office in the land, with Dell Technologies EMEA president Adrian McDonald declaring it a "momentous day" in a LinkedIn post (above).
Rickie Sehgal, chairman of London-based MSP Transputec, congratulated Sunak on becoming the first PM of Indian origin, adding that the former Chancellor has "inspired so many of us and lit up our lives".
"Today we have a new Prime Minister-designate who has the credentials to unite the country, steer the economic ship and inspire millions of people with diverse backgrounds, that in the UK, anything is possible," added Craige Winter-Nolan in another post on LinkedIn.
Calls for tech focus
Other tech leaders were quick to call on Sunak to make good on his pledge back in August to make the UK a science and technology "superpower" if he were to be made PM.
"The UK tech sector is enjoying a golden age with start-ups and scale-ups cumulatively valued at over $1tn, a growth rate six times faster than the rest of the UK economy and a workforce of over 5 million people," said Stephen Kelly, the chair of Tech Nation, a self-styled national network for ambitious tech entrepreneurs.
"Tech has undoubtedly become the beating heart of UK growth and we welcome the formulation of a robust strategy from the government to continue building a vibrant ecosystem to boost our home-grown tech talent and companies," he added.
Simon Mullis, CTO at Venari Security, urged the new occupant of Number 10 to make encryption a priority, meanwhile.
"Previous governments have been very vocal in their resistance to the encryption of communications, particularly on social media. Earlier this year Priti Patel urged Meta to rethink its end-to-end encryption plans for Facebook Messenger. Whilst this is a sensitive debate and you can understand their desire to improve online safety, I implore the new Prime Minister to understand the data privacy concerns that come along with weak encryption protocols," he said.
Tony Danker, the head of Britain's largest business lobby group, the CBI, was quick to warn Sunak against pursuing an austerity "doom loop", arguing that the UK has "the potential to lead the world in clean energy, life sciences, AI and fintech".
"Yes, we need to stabilise things first and foremost, but if we don't have a plan for growth then I'm afraid there aren't good outcomes in the next decade."