General Election 2024: What the major parties' manifestos have to say about tech
Now that all UK-wide parties have published their manifestos, here is what each has to say about the tech sector
As campaigning for the UK general election heats up, all parties in the running to form the next government have now published (more or less comprehensive) manifestos.
From green jobs to new offshore drilling licenses, the documents cover sweeping or, in some cases quite modest policy proposals.
All of them referenced the tech sector as a major driving force behind the UK economy and outlined proposals to support it.
Over the past week, our sister site, Computing, rounded up the key policies from each and estimated the potential impact on the sector.
Keep reading for the highlights.
The Labour party
The Labour Party unveiled a comprehensive industrial strategy in its manifesto, aiming, it says to make the UK the "best place to start and grow a business".
The party's focus is on supporting innovation, investment, and creating ‘650,000 high-quality jobs', which it plans to achieve through measures designed to simplify procurement processes and improve access to resources.
Industrial strategy
Labour's industrial strategy revolves around clean energy and harnessing data for the public good.
The strategy includes measures to support the development of AI, remove planning barriers to new datacentres, and the creation of a National Data Library to support data-driven public services.
Measures to ease restrictions on the building of new datacentres will likely prove controversial in some areas, due to their size and power and water demands.
Labour aims to make the UK a "clean energy superpower," saying it will move to zero-carbon electricity by 2030, with a doubling of onshore wind, tripling of solar power and quadrupling of offshore wind.
It also plans a "renewed push" to roll out gigabit broadband and 5G coverage nationally by the same year.
Unlike the Liberal Democrats, Labour's manifesto does not focus on IT in the NHS, but it does mention the need to replace "ageing machines operating for long after they should" with "state of the art scanners with embedded AI."
Plans for AI
Labour pledges to support the development of the AI sector, and to regulate the "handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models' and banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes.
Emma Woollcott, partner and head of the reputation protection and crisis management group at law firm Mishcon de Reya, said the Labour approach (which has something in common with Europe's) is in contrast to the Tories' "vaguer manifesto statement that they are 'leading global work on AI safety'". She noted that the deep fake pledge echoed government proposals that were dropped when the election was called, and said it would be welcomed.
Help for SMEs
In its manifesto Labour says it will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent and will clarify the allowances system for small companies. The party also plans to reform the British Business Bank, which was set up to support small businesses, to make it easier for them to access capital, particularly in the ‘regions and nations'.
Late payments, a significant issue for SMEs, will be addressed to ensure that small businesses and the self-employed are paid on time. Procurement rules will also be reformed to give SMEs greater access to government contracts.
The latter provision was welcomed by Mark Boost, CEO of UK cloud provider Civo, who said it represented the levelling of a playing field that has long favoured big tech firms in government contracts.
"Unmooring the public sector from Silicon Valley can only be a benefit. The UK has one of the strongest tech sectors in the world, an industry that continues to grow despite recent economic challenges. Why not capitalise on the talent we have over here, instead of awarding huge contracts to large US tech confirms that have no stake in the direction of the nation?"
Labour's manifesto also talks of investing in new technology at HMRC, which the party sees as central to dealing with "unfairness in the tax system," including tackling tax avoidance.
Supporting start-ups and innovation
Labour's manifesto mentions a few measures to support start-ups and innovation. The party plans to work with universities to support spinouts and with industry to ensure start-ups have the access to finance they need to grow.
It says it will create a "pro-innovation regulatory framework", including a new Regulatory Innovation Office to help regulators update legislation, speed up approval timelines, and coordinate issues that span existing boundaries.
In common with the manifestos released by the other parties so far, Labour makes scant mention of cybersecurity challenges, but says it will conduct a Strategic Defence Review within its first year in government.
Read on for a summary of policy proposals from the Lib Dems, Conservatives, Greens and Reform UK...
General Election 2024: What the major parties' manifestos have to say about tech
Now that all UK-wide parties have published their manifestos, here is what each has to say about the tech sector
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrat manifesto is long on promises but short on solutions.
Ed Davey's party is clearly going into this general election with a plan. Unfortunately, that plan only touches the tech sector by chance.
At the heart of the manifesto is the promise to reverse the worst of Brexit's damage by rejoining the EU's Single Market (and a longer-term pledge to rejoin the EU) - the only major party, if we can still count the Lib Dems that way, to do so.
Based on the EU's previous statements, it's likely that rejoining the Single Market would also mean having to accept freedom of movement for EU citizens wanting to come to the UK.
The party also promises to "work across borders to...tackle common threats such as human trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism" - all part of its design to appeal to voters who want to repair the UK's relationship with Brussels.
Notably though, this is the only real mention of cyber defence anywhere in the manifesto.
Artificial intelligence
What about the words on every technologist's lips at the moment: artificial intelligence?
Here, the Lib Dems are on somewhat firmer ground. They at least have some concrete promises, although only two of them.
First, they plan to create "a clear, workable and well-resourced cross-sectoral regulatory framework" for AI. This framework is intended to promote innovation; create certainty for users, developers and investors; and establish transparency and accountability for AI systems used in the public sector.
Linked to that latter point, the framework will also "ensure the use of personal data and AI is unbiased, transparent and accurate," while also respecting "the privacy of innocent people."
This is good – nobody wants rogue AI – but represents a big change to the Conservatives' (well-received) light-touch approach.
With how clear the Lib Dems have been about their desire to draw closer to Europe, we expect they'll take inspiration from the AI Act in their own plans.
The party's cross-border goals are also at the centre of their second AI pledge: to negotiate the UK's participation in the Trade and Technology Council with the US and the EU. That would give the country a seat at the table when it comes to building global AI regulation.
But what will be promised to get that seat? It's unclear. It would be nice to think the EU and USA would welcome the UK's participation – the Conservative government has been trying to establish the country as an AI leader, and we have a lot of expertise to offer – but at the end of the day, if they have something we want then they can set the price.
Investment
There is a big focus on the climate running throughout the manifesto. The Lib Dems say they will "make Britain a world leader in the new infrastructure, businesses and technologies needed to tackle climate change."
The separate funding page, which sets out calculations for these plans, gives a figure of £8.4bn a year to spend on tackling climate change.
It will also spend £1.1bn a year on NHS technology, including replacing computers and making all NHS IT systems interoperable.
... And everything else
Unfortunately, technology gets short shrift in the rest of the manifesto. There are few mentions of how the Lib Dems will support the industry, aside from some fairly nebulous and wide-ranging promises to support the economy in general.
The party says it will support entrepreneurs and small businesses; champion investment in the North, West and Midlands; and invest in more apprenticeships and new Lifelong Skills Grants.
It also plans to continue participation in Horizon Europe, join the European Innovation Council and aim for "at least" three per cent of GDP to be invested in R&D by 2030, rising to 3.5 per cent by 2034.
Taxes
Funding doesn't come for free. Luckily, this is a costed manifesto, and we can dig into the nuts and bolts of the Lib Dems' plans.
The party plans to spend £31.7bn in 2028-29, slightly offset by about £5bn in savings from cutting the asylum backlog and slashing public sector consultancy spending.
The money will not come from public taxes like income tax, national insurance or VAT, which nearly every person in the UK pays into. Instead, it will mostly come from corporate taxes.
The big element here for the tech sector is a tripling of the Digital Services Tax on tech giants, from two per cent to six per cent, expected to raise more than £2bn.
Also included are a "proper" windfall tax on oil and gas companies' super-profits, backdated to October 2021; reversing cuts to banks' taxes; increasing taxes on water and tobacco companies; and targeting the very wealthy with a new tax on private jet flights and reformed Capital Gains Tax.
In total, the Lib Dems expect to raise about £26.9bn from tax reforms, roughly balancing their spending commitments when the £5bn savings are taken into account.
General Election 2024: What the major parties' manifestos have to say about tech
Now that all UK-wide parties have published their manifestos, here is what each has to say about the tech sector
Conservative party
For a 76-page document, the Conservative party's manifesto was short on tech and digital policy detail, but heavy on solutionism.
Beginning with education, the Conservatives propose to abolish the current system and introduce the Advanced British Standard (ABS), which is a broader, Baccalaureate style qualification.
Continuing maths education to 18, taking the best of A-Levels and T-levels and increasing the number of teaching hours could all have a positive effect on the readiness of young adults for the tech workplace. But the lack of emphasis on digital skills has concerned some people:
CEO of upskilling company Academy, Ashley Ramrachia commented:
"No one can doubt the importance of English and Maths, but the Conservative manifesto needs more of a focus on digital literacy. The digital age is here and it is crucial that all future generations are equipped with the skills needed to take advantage of the abundant opportunities it will provide. The UK is facing a concerning skills crisis that risks hampering our chances of benefitting from the fiscal and societal benefits that a career in tech is able to offer."
There are also other practical challenges which the manifesto fails to acknowledge such as teacher shortages. Amanda Brock, CEO OpenUK said:
"The Advanced British Standard with compulsory maths to 18, and the use of boot camps to fill the skills gap are a welcome step forward, and apparently enabled by financial recognition for teachers in core areas like computer science. However, a tax free £30k bonus over five years, is never going to touch the salary differentials for anyone skilled in tech or incentivise their move to teach. "
The manifesto also pledges to create 100,000 more apprenticeships in England every year by the end of the next parliament. This will be funded by curbing the number of ‘poor-quality' university degrees.
This is a pledge revealed in advance of the manifesto launch – cracking down on ‘Micky Mouse degrees' being a Tory attack line which has historically landed well with certain portions of the electorate.
Apprenticeships can be hugely beneficial for tech employers and young people, but the scheme is troubled, with £3.3bn of levy funding unused and a collapse in starts.
Rishi Sunak announced changes to the levy earlier this year to allow larger business to transfer a greater proportion of their levy (up to 50 per cent) and hopefully cover the costs for SMEs in full. Delivering this should arguably have been the focus rather than creating more apprenticeships may not be taken up.
Tax breaks for tech
The Conservative government has announced plans for the UK to become a "science and technology superpower" time and again, but there are more union flag graphics than mentions of start-ups and scale-ups in the manifesto.
That said, the Conservatives are continuing their policies of creating a financial environment which encourages investment in tech start-ups. For example, they pledge to retain the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) which gives tax breaks for investing in starts-ups ad later stage companies.
There are also plans to maintain the current rate of tax relief that founders can claim on R&D and a continuation of the Mansion House reforms which should make it easier to invest in UK tech companies rather than have them all up sticks to Palo Alto because they find it impossible to secure the investment and people they need to scale here.
There is also a pledge to "secure a £250m Invest in Women Fund." Sunak announced this policy earlier this year and it's designed to try to increase the proportion of venture capital awarded to female founders from its present rate of two per cent. There are no details on how this sum will be secured.
AI features in the manifesto. There is a pledge to continue investment of £1.5bn in large-scale compute clusters to support research into safe and responsible use.
AI solutionism
Beyond the investment detailed above, AI is mentioned only in the context of delivering public services more cheaply.
It is in the part of the manifesto focusing on health and social care that the tech solutionism really kicks in. Apparently, AI will be used to "free up doctors' and nurses' time for frontline patient care." Tens of thousands of outdated computers will be replaced, and the ongoing digitisation of processes such as the Federated Data Platform will reduce millions of lost clinician hours every year. There is also talk of a "medtech pathway" but no further definitions, plans or costs.
The use of AI to help clinicians read scans faster and more accurately does sound feasible, but the aspiration to make the NHS App "the single front door for NHS services," might not go down well with older people and those who dislike the deployment of apps as gatekeepers.
Finally, there is one glaring omission from this manifesto. The word "cyber" crops up twice, first in the context of the proposed National Service plans, and secondly:
"We have toughened our cyber defences and national security laws to protect the nation from terrorists and hostile state actors."
This isn't even a pledge, it's part of a statement entitled "Taking Pride in our Record." It's also patently untrue. Attacks on public infrastructure are becoming increasingly common, the most recent of which are the attacks on London hospitals. Our cyber defences have not been toughened up. On the contrary, according to a report last year from the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy our public and critical infrastructure remains vulnerable.
And that should worry us all.
General Election 2024: What the major parties' manifestos have to say about tech
Now that all UK-wide parties have published their manifestos, here is what each has to say about the tech sector
The Green party
Among the Greens' technology-related pledges are statements related to media and big tech, artificial intelligence, a Digital Bill of Rights, and more support for green tech.
Transition to renewables
As would be expected, the Green Party manifesto prioritises a transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles, upgrading the housing stock and public buildings, promising to end new oil and gas licences and subsidies for the oil and gas industries, and placing a focus on wind, solar, green hydrogen and energy storage, including via community ownership of generation facilities.
To facilitate the switch to EVs, the Green Party proposes an extensive vehicle scrappage scheme, with funding rising to £5bn per year by the end of the parliament, alongside the rapid rollout of EV charging points.
AI regulation
Acknowledging the transformative potential of AI, in its manifesto the Green Party advocates for a precautionary regulatory approach to manage its risks. It aims to align the UK's approach with the EU, UNESCO and global efforts to ensure a coordinated response. The party says it would end the routine use of facial recognition software by the police.
The Greens say they will seek to secure equitable access to socially and environmentally responsible benefits of AI, while also addressing issues related to bias, discrimination, equality, liberty, privacy and IP.
"We would insist on the protection of the Intellectual Property of artists, writers and musicians and other creators," the party says, adding that it will seek to ensure that workers' rights and interests are respected when AI leads to significant changes in working conditions.
Media and the Digital Bill of Rights
The manifesto calls out the negative impact of billionaire and big-tech ownership in the media landscape, including social media.
The party intends to implement the 2012 Leveson Report recommendations to reform the media and reinstate the second part of the review, which was abandoned by the coalition government. It proposes a Digital Bill of Rights to ensure independent regulation of social media providers and safeguard elections from foreign interference.
"The Digital Bill of Rights will give the public greater control over their data, ensuring UK data protection is as strong as any other regulatory regime," the manifesto states.
Entrepreneurship
The manifesto is light on support for entrepreneurship, but Green party says it wants to "attract the best researchers for our universities, the top talent for our start-ups," by loosening immigration rules and dropping minimum income requirements. The party also promises to invest more in education, and to scrap university tuition fees.
General Election 2024: What the major parties' manifestos have to say about tech
Now that all UK-wide parties have published their manifestos, here is what each has to say about the tech sector
Reform UK
Reform UK launched its "contract with the British people" yesterday at a press conference in South Wales.
Reform doesn't like the word manifesto, but whatever you choose to call it, the document is light on anything relating to the technology sector and workplace.
Immigration and skills
Reducing immigration is the party's defining mission.
The party's first pledge is to freeze all "non-essential" immigration, and the only workers deemed essential are those employed in the health and social care sector.
The freeze on immigration would have a chilling effect on the tech sector. Home office figures for the ending June 2023 indicate that four per cent of all skilled worker VISAs were issued for programmers and developers and a further two per cent for IT business analysts.
The impact of an immigration freeze would be to exacerbate the already yawning tech skills gap. Reform would also introduce an Employer Immigration Tax of 20 per cent for "foreign workers."
The only exemptions would be for those employing health and social care workers and businesses employing fewer than five people.
The contract states that the Employer Immigration Tax "could" raise more than £20bn over five years to pay for apprenticeships and training for young British people.
How? We aren't told.
Economy and tax
Reform has pledged to "back risk takers and wealth creators" and plans for the first 100 days include:
- Lift the minimum profit threshold to £100k and reduce the topline rate of corporation tax from 25 per cent to 20 per cent and then to 15 per cent from year three.
- Abolish IR35 to support sole traders. This may have a benefit for self-employed IT consultants
- Lift the VAT threshold to £150,000, and longer-term reform the tax system
No details or provided other than an assertion that major simplification is needed.
Other pledges are vague, such as fast-tracking infrastructure projects and slashing red tape. There is a hint about the red tape that Reform would like to slash and it seems to be employment laws.
"We must make it easier to hire and fire so that businesses can grow," the manifesto says.
Tech adjacent pledges
That's the full extent of the economy, tax and skills part of the contract.
There are some interesting pledges that are, if not fully applicable to technology, at least technology adjacent.
One appears to indicate a plan to withdraw from the EU Horizon programme, which was described as "a beacon of international collaboration," by The Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society when the UK rejoined last year - to some fanfare from Rishi Sunak and DSIT, after falling out due to Brexit. According to Reform, UK membership of Horizon "means that we send money to the European Defence Fund and part of the EU's mobility project."
How much money? What are the costs and implications of withdrawing from the agreement? Again, we aren't told.
A non-urgent pledge in the Housing part of the contract states: "We will incentivise innovation to speed up modular construction, digital technology and building sites that improve efficiency and cut waste." No further details, or indeed costs, are provided.