Build British or rely on foreign giants
Ministers' sharpen warning in Liverpool.
Good morning from a very pleasant Airbnb.
Today we're covering what you may have missed at Labour Party Conference yesterday, including ministers ramping up their messaging on tech sovereignty. We've also got a primer of the main events in Liverpool today. I'll be at as many as possible and Amelia Isaacs is also around to cover for us.
The UK's AI ambitions mean little if the sectors that matter most can't take part. HMRC transaction data, NHS patient records, MoD intelligence systems — all sit in on-premises infrastructure, beyond the reach of frontier models. VAST DataEnclave changes that.
It brings leading AI models to sensitive data wherever it lives, using hardware that guarantees no party simply has to trust another. Every action is cryptographically verified and audit-trailed.
For sectors such as financial services, healthcare and government, that creates a path towards using more valuable data with AI while maintaining stronger control over security, sovereignty and intellectual property.
Happening Today 📆
On Merseyside: It's 'Business Day' at Labour Party Conference which means lots of ministers will be out and about to charm industry. Chancellor John Healey is promising a "new age of industrialisation" in his speech at noon, while business secretary Jonathan Reynolds is acting as his warm-up man at 11:40am. The main action, however, is at the fringe. There are way too many events to list, but below are some which caught my eye:
Morning: Demos hosts a talk about how digital sovereignty can support democracy with MPs Anneliese Dodds and Gordon McKee at 8:30am at Exhibition Space 3. The IPPR hosts ministers Kanishka Narayan and Kate Dearden to talk AI's labour market impacts in Arena Room Tees at 10:30am.
Lunch: From 12:30pm the Startup Coalition has a sovereignty panel with Chi Onwurah at their Delhi House base (outside secure zone). The IfG has a talk about digital adoption in government with minister Stephanie Peacock in the Sherwood Room of the ACC at 1:30pm.
Afternoon: At 2:30pm Lisa Nandy speaks about the future of online safety at a ThinkLabour event in Arena Room Aire, while at 3:30pm Labour Digital has a tech sovereignty debate at the same venue. Narayan, who is having a very busy fringe, is speaking at the Anacta Hub at 4pm, while at 5:15pm the Tony Blair Institute hosts its own sovereignty debate at Hall 2C with science minister Chris McDonald.
I need a drink: From 6:30pm it's the Tech Labour Party at the Delhi House. Full list and more details of events here.
In today's edition:
🌹 Labour tests out stronger messaging against foreign tech giants — can it win over AI-sceptical MPs?
👩💻 The latest job moves and vacancies