At White & Black, we work with ambitious businesses navigating growth in industries shaped by innovation and technology, helping them make confident decisions even in a rapidly shifting political landscape.
With a new Prime Minister now in office, Associate Alex Reedrow explores some of the early signals emerging from Andy Burnham’s administration and what they could mean for the UK’s innovation economy. Absent major policy announcements, it is instructive to look at Burnham’s choice of Chancellor, and other ministerial appointments, and changes to the machinery of government.
Healey is elevated
John Healey has been named Chancellor, an appointment that surprised commentators and which comes less than two months after Healey quit as defence secretary, having been embroiled in a funding dispute with the very Treasury which he now leads. Leaving aside wider political motivations for Burham’s choice of Healey, the Chancellor comes into the job with much experience, including as a former Treasury minister in the New Labour government, and apparently the confidence to challenge orthodoxy.
It is understood that Healey and Burham are aligned on headline policies such as reindustrialisation and devolution, which aim at ‘good growth in every postcode’. This will please those who have called for more even investment across the whole of the UK and chimes with the spirit of the recent UK Global R&D and Science Investment Summit in June, organised by Midlands Innovation. Another system change on Healey’s radar looks to be pension fund reform, with a consortium of the UK’s largest providers in consultation with the British Business Bank on the creation of a new £1 billion UK Scale-up Fund.
DSIT is moved
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has been broken up, confirming rumours first reported in the Financial Times, and much of its brief handed over to an expanded business department with Jonathan Reynolds at the helm. Reynolds will need to work hard to ensure a smooth transition and reassure external stakeholders, especially given industry’s felt concern that there is only a short window of time to develop domestic sovereign tech capabilities. It would be a shame for the UK to fall behind other world powers because preoccupied by internal administration (on which, see this fact sheet).
The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, a 10-year programme for investment and growth announced last year, still stands for now. But how that strategy is implemented will be crucial. One promising gesture, in the first week of Burnham’s new government, was the announcement of a £600m package of support for UK aerospace; this funding supports two of the Strategy’s target sectors, namely clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
AI is central
Kanishka Narayan has been named Minister for Artificial Intelligence, an upgrade that moves him from DSIT to the Cabinet Office and Business Department. Narayan’s continuing in post is indicative of the positive regard with which he is held in both parliament and the tech community. Although there won’t be a department to run, this position gives Narayan a seat in Cabinet and a cross-departmental mandate.
Government followed this appointment with the launch of a new AI Taskforce, led by Narayan and chaired by Lord Vallance. With high expectations on the potential of AI, the stated aim of the taskforce is to unlock growth and prosperity through the transformation of public services. Vallance’s recent time in DSIT and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will help tackle some of the challenges, as well we seize the opportunities, posed by AI, not least the cost of energy associated with data centres.
Helping you navigate change
The details of what this new government will mean for the innovation economy will continue to emerge over the coming weeks and months. Key moments to watch will be Labour’s Annual Conference in September and the Autumn budget expected toward the end of October.
For businesses operating in innovative and fast-moving sectors, understanding the implications of these developments will be just as important as the announcements themselves.
At White & Black, we continue to help business leaders make sense of change, translating it into practical commercial decisions that support growth, manage risk and maximise value. Whether you’re navigating new opportunities in AI or securing investment for the next stage of growth, we remain committed to providing strategic legal advice that helps ambitious businesses move forward with confidence.
If you’re thinking about what’s next for your business in an evolving innovation landscape, we’d be delighted to have a conversation.