Governments chase private investment. Few ask who really benefits. Recently, Labour has been genuflecting to the tech industry in the hope that Britain will become the destination for an AI boom. American tech firms have enjoyed numerous meetings with the secretary of state, Peter Kyle, and ministers have taken aim at competition regulation, a vital tool for tackling corporate power. In doing so, Labour risks undermining its attempts to build a more productive, higher-wage economy.
Just as the EU is adopting a tougher stance on big tech and AI, Labour is moving in a more conciliatory direction. Last week, ministers handed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the regulator with the power to break up big tech firms, a new “steer” to prioritise growth. At Labour’s investment summit last October, Sir Keir Starmer had a friendly conversation with the former Google boss Eric Schmidt, and pledged to make the CMA take growth “as seriously as this room does”. The government then installed Doug Gurr, the former head of Amazon UK, as the regulator’s new chair.
