Andy Burnham has delivered two big surprises so far: his choice of Chancellor and the scrapping of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
In hindsight, John Healey shouldn’t have been such an outside bet, having served as PPS to Gordon Brown at the Treasury (1999–2001), successively Adult Skills Minister, Treasury Minister, Local Government Minister and Housing Minister (2001–2010) and Defence Secretary (2024–2026).
The bigger shock was, of course, carving DSIT up between the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. There’s no sugarcoating it — pretty much everyone is interpreting it as a blow to Britain’s capacity to deliver tech policy. As subscribers to our Policy Updates will have read earlier in the week, tech leaders and lobby groups were blindsided by its abolition.
The good news is that Kanishka Narayan will now attend Cabinet as AI Minister, jointly working in the Cabinet Office and DBIST. A friend of The Entrepreneurs Network, Kanishka is a leading thinker and doer in government — and one who has the respect of the tech ecosystem. As he wrote on X:
“AI is likely the most significant technology in human history. Its impact will dwarf other things. The best case for it is compelling beyond our dreams: a reindustrialised Britain, stronger national security, public services transformed for the better. The risks, too, are real: it is right that the British public shares those worries, for jobs, for the pace of change. The central fact is that it is happening. Nations have a narrow window to decide whether they shape AI or get shaped by it. Britain is in that window right now. While that window is still open, I will act with pace, I will act with ambition, and I will focus relentlessly on securing British influence in shaping AI.”
And it’s great to see the launch of the new AI Taskforce today, chaired by Lord Vallance, which aims to transform public services. Encouragingly, it’s framed as being based on the Vaccines Taskforce which, the press release claims (correctly), “showed that an empowered unit, with clear accountability to the Prime Minister, can drive extraordinary outcomes and deliver real benefits for people across the country.”
It’s also pleasing to see Jonathan Reynolds back at the helm of the beefed-up business department. In his speech as Business Secretary at the launch of our Backing Breakthrough Businesses report — led by our Patron Steve Rigby, with most of its recommendations now adopted — Jonny made the critical point that while his constituents don’t tell him they’re specifically worried about growth being below the post-war trend, they are worried that their children won’t have the kind of opportunities that they had.
As the new Government will know only too well — in fact, one would hope that this is the central motive for ditching Starmer — one of the most-replicated and well-known findings in economics and political science is that voters return governments after periods of economic prosperity.
Of course, that’s not entirely in any Prime Minister’s control — global events can do plenty of damage. But even so, I agree with Matt Clifford that the UK could be one of the richest countries in the world.
Tech alone won’t get Britain there. But Britain won’t get there without it.
Wow!
We’re delighted to be supporting MHR and The Telegraph Media Group with their inaugural World of Work 2026 — a free, one-day gathering on how people, finance and AI/tech leadership are reshaping the way we work. Rory Sutherland and Tim Campbell MBE keynote, alongside a Telegraph Future of Work panel, Gerard Lyons on the economic outlook (global risks and UK realities), Lucy Adams on building high-performing teams and leading through change, and hands-on sessions on putting AI to work across people and finance functions.
It runs on Wednesday 23 September, with sessions followed by evening networking, at Tobacco Dock in Wapping. It’s aimed at business decision-makers, so do pass it on to your HR or people lead, your finance lead, or anyone else who’d get value from it. Find out more here.
We share free opportunities like this with our Members. Join for free here, or let me know if you have anything you would like us to share with thousands of founders.
Alma Matters
Amy Morgan, one of our Advisers, flagged this: applications are open for Barclays' inaugural Demo Day – Best of Universities, bringing 45 university spinouts before around 200 investors — VCs, angels and family offices — at Barclays’ London HQ on 3 November. Selected ventures get investor access, bespoke 1:1 mentoring and national visibility. Three stages run: life sciences (Parkwalk’s Anne Dobrée), physical sciences and advanced manufacturing (Innovate UK’s Tom Adeyoola), and deep tech (Conception X’s Riam Kanso). For spinouts actively raising — applications close 14 August. TTOs and investors, do share with your portfolios and alumni. Apply here to present.
Sinclair Research
We’re delighted to welcome Matthew Sinclair, Senior Director at CCIA UK, as an Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network. Matthew leads CCIA’s UK office and its engagement with policymakers across competition, intellectual property, privacy and safety. An economist with fifteen years in public policy, he’s advised the UK government, EU institutions and major media and technology companies on digital regulation, and has served as a senior economic adviser to government. On why he’s joined us, Matthew says: “It is much too easy for policymakers to neglect the impact of their decisions on entrepreneurs.” Welcome, Matthew.