IT industry issues from Intellect - read our blog...
Politics, life after the reshuffle and the credit crunch
Concept Viability: Early engagement with industry
28/04/05
Political Parties Need to Up the Ante on the Knowledge Economy
Intellect considers the Labour Party’s Business Manifesto to be a step in the right direction in terms of the knowledge economy. It applauds the party's commitment to promote better regulation, to reward creative industries through a modernised intellectual property regime, and for recognising that we must make the transition from a low skilled to high skilled economy.
However, Intellect believes that none of the political parties are yet to truly understand the potential of technology, and warns that which ever party is successful, it will need to seriously up the ante if we are going to stand a chance of becoming a knowledge economy.
Commenting following the launch of the Labour Business Manifesto today, Tom Wills-Sandford, Director of Public Affairs at Intellect said;
"We consider the next parliamentary session to be a critical juncture in the UK’s transformation into a knowledge economy. There are two very different paths we can take. We can either accelerate towards a fully-inclusive, coherent Knowledge Economy or we can stagnate and leave the path clear for new entrants such as India and China to become leaders in the global economy."
"It is technology which will be the key to our ability to accelerate forwards towards this fully inclusive, coherent knowledge economy. Technology gives us the potential to make our economy more productive and more competitive than ever before. Technology provides the fuel for innovation that will be critical for securing jobs and opening up new opportunities. Technology gives us the chance to deliver high quality public services that we can afford. Technology gives us tools that can enhance the quality of life enjoyed by our families and communities. Technology impacts every aspect of our society and our economy. Our ability to exploit and absorb the potential of technology will determine whether we succeed or fail in a global knowledge economy."
Intellect calls on the next government to set out a clear vision for Britain in the 21st century knowledge economy and build a strong network of politicians, civil servants, academics and industry leaders who share this ‘transformation’ vision and understand the opportunities and threats that the UK is facing.
Intellect is concerned that this vision must be turned into reality. There needs to be decisive leadership from the top. The next government needs to place the nation's knowledge economy at the centre of its programme.
We ask that that the next Prime Minister appoint a minister whose only portfolio is the Knowledge Economy and he or she should be responsible for developing appropriate policies, institutions, investments and coordination across the four pillars we set out below:
We look forward to working with the next government on this exciting vision.
Press contact: Press Office T 020 7331 2168 E This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Full name Contact telephone number Publication (publications if you are a freelance writer) Areas of interest
