Rebuild Britain:

An Open Letter to Andy Burnham

Dear Andy,

For nearly 20 years, the story of the British economy has been one of slow but vicious decline. All the while, there has been a very clear bright spot: Britain’s tech startups and scaleups and the broader innovation economy. Over 50,000 new tech companies were incorporated in the UK last year alone - with the fastest growth happening outside of London. 

These aren’t ‘normal’ businesses. Yes, they create high-skilled jobs, empower staff through wealth-generating share options and pour vital revenue into our public services through the taxes they pay. But this is no longer enough. Tech is no longer just an engine of growth, it is a source of hard power in an increasingly volatile world.

When governments can switch off AI, our traditional industrial base and our new technological one needs to be more closely intertwined than ever. To be truly sovereign in the AI age and for Britain to secure its place in the world, we must create the indispensable companies of the future.

Progress has been made. There is much in the past two years that can be retained and built on. The policy foundation and the talent in Government is there, but we do not have the luxury of time.

The coming years will be critical in making or breaking Britain as a tech power. We will only succeed if we: 

1. Incentivise and support our best and brightest to build world-beating firms wherever in the country they are - both in our culture but also in the tax and investment landscape.

2. Unlock the capital in pension funds and in savers' pockets to back our very best scaleups and ensure that British people see the benefits of our tech success.

3. Bulldoze the ‘computer says no’ mindset of the at-times sclerotic regulatory state and ensure AI can make our entire economy competitive again.

4. Back British tech with not just words but cold, hard procurement cash to revitalise Britain’s struggling public services and create sovereign tech capability.

5. Prepare ourselves clearly for our AI future by retaining and securing talent within Government and institutions like AISI, Sovereign AI and beyond.

All these problems facing our ecosystem are pressing and urgent, but just as urgent are the glaring issues facing the wider economy. We want to be clear we do not see these are options to trade off against each other. We all need to see progress together.

Our teams can’t afford to live near the great jobs we’re creating because we can’t build.

Our sky-high energy costs mean we risk being left not only with an uncompetitive industrial base but without the AI infrastructure we’ll need too.

And because of the vicious cycle we’re in, we risk losing our best and brightest talent to opportunities around the world through a doom loop of rising tax and failing public services.

We are at a precipice. Yet, each and every one of us believes in Britain and what we can achieve. We have every opportunity to lead the world in the key industries of the future, and in doing so spread wealth throughout each and every part of our great nation.

All of us stand ready to help. We’re ready to build with whoever wants to build with us. 

Yours,

Startup Coalition, Founders Forum Group and Founders, Investors and Builders from Britain’s Startup and Scaleup Community