Labour Party Conference: Three key takeouts

Restoring economic stability, rebuilding public services and creating more opportunities for young people were all top of the agenda at Labour’s first Annual Conference as the party in power since 2010. But what came up in Liverpool that IAB UK members should be particularly aware of? Gareth Lyon, IAB UK’s Public Affairs Lead, shares three key take outs from the floor. 

The role of regulation

There was a keen focus on the role and right balance of regulation to shape flourishing industries - mirroring similar debate at the Lib Dems’ event and (if the agenda is anything to go by) foreshadowing similar themes at the Conservative’s gathering. How much more regulation is needed across different industries, how it should be formed, and who should be implementing it (industry or Government) are all questions that have come up again and again. While energy and utilities were the primary focus of this, there has also been a lot of talk about AI, with a recognition that there are particular and urgent challenges for policymakers to keep up with the rate of technological change across a growing number of sectors.

Working with industry 

Labour, unsurprisingly, are portraying the fact that policymakers are playing catch-up to tech as a failing of the previous Government, resulting in some welcome rhetoric about being “led by the science” and wanting to engage in genuine dialogue with industry when it comes to how to regulate effectively. The collaborative spirit of this is evidenced by Labour’s decision to continue with - and potentially extend - the Online Advertising Taskforce that is working to bolster self-regulatory initiatives within the digital ad industry. At the same time, there are clear indications that the Labour Government will go beyond self-regulation in some areas such as to strengthen online safety, protect personal data and privacy and create greater alignment with the EU on these subjects.

An AI future 

In tandem with discussions about regulating AI, there was awareness of the opportunity it offers to supercharge growth and innovation. The Prime Minister sat down with Debbie Weinstein - Vice President and Managing Director of Google in the UK & Ireland - to discuss the potential for business to work with the government to unlock an AI-powered economic productivity boost worth £400bn by 2030. Meanwhile, Peter Kyle MP - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology - focused his speech on how digital technology and artificial intelligence will shape the lives of the generation being born today, pointing to a future that is “no longer shaped by the shame of food banks, but by the potential of state-of-the-art databanks, AI and supercomputer technologies.”