The month of January has seen the UK government make a series of announcements which have been met with varying degrees of optimism by the country’s tech community.
Although the first couple of weeks were seemingly quiet, Prime Minister Theresa May drew the attention of entrepreneurs in the space when she delivered her long-awaited Brexit speech mid-month.
During the intervention, May outlined her 12-point plan for negotiation talks with the EU, while insisting she wanted the UK to remain a “magnet” for international talent, pioneers and innovators – three components largely believed to be under threat in post-Brexit Britain.
Jeremy King, CEO and founder of London-based market research firm Attest, shared his views on the subject with the benefit of hindsight.
“The UK startup scene benefits everyday from freedom of movement of money, talent and diversity; simple access to a large regional market; and unique links to global business via global companies headquartered in the UK,” he said.
Recent events – such as the UK’s impending divorce from the EU and the potential knock-on effects of US President Donald Trump’s mandate – are endangering the business environment and the ongoing uncertainty is making it harder for technology businesses to attract, and potentially retain, talent from overseas.
With little signs of uncertainty abating and following former UK ambassador to the EU Sir Ivan Rogers’ predictions that much of the Brexit-related talks would be “conducted very publicly” with “name-calling” and within an “extremely feisty atmosphere”, it’s hardly surprising that concerns are mounting among members of the UK tech community.
“All uncertainty is dangerous to startups, and a long period of uncertainty could be lethal,” King added, highlighting that the UK should be actively opening itself to opportunities that would enable its startup and small business world to flourish.
The Industrial Strategy
But it hasn’t all been doom and gloom, as the month of January also brought seemingly positive news for the country’s tech sector.
Approximately a week after May delivered her Brexit strategy, the PM returned to the limelight when she outlined the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
Delivered during a Cabinet meeting, May explained how her government was looking to focus on innovative technologies such as AI, robotics and 5G wireless internet as part of its Modern Industrial Strategy – itself part of a £4.7bn initiative first announced by the PM back in November.
Dr Graeme Malcolm OBE, CEO and co-founder of Glasgow-based M Squared, told Tech City News he was largely optimistic about the news, adding that “when the government invests in science, tangible results can come of it”.
Not everyone agrees, though. Sam James, CEO at Hassle, is concerned by the apparent lack of both understanding and policy implemented in order to support the country’s sharing economy.
“The gig economy has been in existence for over 7 years and I am concerned that the government has thus far struggled to keep pace with the rapid technological progress in our sector,” James said.
“The UK Government has given assurance that it fully supports the rise of the sharing economy, and some steps have been taken, but much more needs to be done in order to strengthen the UK’s reputation as one of the great tech capitals of the word.”
Trump’s Muslim ban
Although directly affected by the UK government’s policy decisions, entrepreneurs in the country have also been keeping a close eye on events happening elsewhere throughout the last month.
Since being officially sworn into office on 20th January, US President Trump has been making headlines across the world – often for the wrong reasons.
Tech giants such as Apple have already publicly denounced his executive order which ultimately halts the entry to the US by persons from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
In so doing, Apple CEO Tim Cook joined other prominent Silicon Valley execs including Google-owner Alphabet’s Sergey Brin in challenging the order which, much like Brexit, is thought to endanger the flow of immigrant talent the technology industry often relies on.
Some in the UK industry have joined the likes of Apple and Google, while others have said that Trump’s policy could provide a boost to Britain’s tech sector; with US technology firms choosing to boost international operations instead of hiring domestically and startups in the UK binning expansion plans to Silicon Valley.
Overall, January brought both positive and negative news for an industry reportedly growing 32% faster than the rest of the UK economy, and while the government seems to be hitting the nail on the head when it comes to internal policy decisions, it is its foreign policy which is almost certainly in the mind of every tech entrepreneur in Britain today.
With many questions still unanswered, and the Brexit white paper expected to be published tomorrow, February is set to be a somewhat exciting month.