Alan Mak: Labour don’t understand the business of tech and science

Alan Mak is Shadow Science & Technology Secretary, a former Treasury and Business Minister, and Conservative MP for Havant

Britain’s technology and science sectors generate billions for our economy, as well as sustaining jobs, supporting communities, generating innovation and producing high-value products and exports. Our life sciences sector alone contributes over £13 billion and employs 1 in every 121 people.

Government has a key role to play in creating the conditions for these important sectors to flourish, especially when it comes to engaging with and supporting the private sector businesses that drive growth and innovation. From tech start-ups developing new software to pharmaceutical firms researching and manufacturing the latest medicines, we Conservatives understand it’s the private sector that supercharges growth.

Conservatives also understand that government must play its role well for these sectors to succeed in the long term. There is an art to getting it right. A high level of “tech and science sector statecraft” must operate in order to keep Britain growing and globally competitive. For example, Ministers must help get deals over the line to benefit UK PLC; attract investment to our country; and convince CEOs to keep senior management, manufacturing plants and research centres in Britain – and not move them abroad.

But when it comes to understanding how the business aspects of the science and technology sectors work, and ensuring Britain wins in a globally competitive environment, Labour are clueless and useless. When Labour negotiates, Britain loses. When Labour deals with business, Britain loses. When Labour gets involved in science and technology, Britain loses.

Take their AstraZeneca debacle, for example.

Before the last election, Conservatives in government agreed a deal worth £450 million with AstraZeneca – the UK’s most valuable listed company – to expand their vaccine manufacturing facility on Merseyside.

Following Labour’s victory on 5 July last year, AstraZeneca acted quickly and wrote to Labour’s new Science Secretary Peter Kyle and Chancellor Rachel Reeves on 9 July seeking swift confirmation that the deal could still go ahead. A speedy reply was needed from the new Government because AstraZeneca wanted to start work on the R&D aspects of the deal over the summer to meet internal business case deadlines.

The Science Secretary did not reply to AstraZeneca’s letter.

The Chancellor did not reply either.

In fact, no Labour Minister replied for 4 months.

It was only in October last year that the Business Secretary replied – and he fobbed them off. Rather than providing any firm commitment that Labour wanted to continue with the deal, his response was pure waffle.

Given the delay, the business case for the deal was falling apart.

AstraZeneca tried to save the deal by increasing their investment commitment from £450 million to over £500 million. Labour still walked away, costing our country jobs and investment.

The deal is now dead – and it’s Labour’s fault.

When I challenged Peter Kyle from the Despatch Box about Labour’s failure and put him under pressure, he panicked and accused the Conservatives of doing “a deal by WhatsApp that was never followed up by the Treasury or Ministers”.

Kyle was wrong. In fact, the Labour Cabinet Minister was so wrong he misled the House. I spotted the error, complained to the Speaker, and Kyle was forced to return to the Commons Chamber a few hours later to personally apologise to Parliament and correct the record. It was a humiliating episode for him.

However, watch the video and you will see Kyle has no remorse about Labour’s approach. He didn’t apologise for botching the deal. And had no regrets about letting hundreds of jobs – and millions of pounds in investment – slip through his fingers. He didn’t even know the details of the deal we had already made, and he simply didn’t care about keeping one of Britain’s top investors on side.

Instead of jumping at the chance to complete a deal already negotiated by the Conservatives, the only thing Labour delivered was a signal to the world that Britain’s life sciences sector was closed for business.

In contrast, AstraZeneca is investing more than £1 billion in Singapore, nearly £3 billion in the US and more than £450 million in Canada. We could have joined that list, but Labour’s incompetence cost Britain.

Labour simply cannot secure investment, make deals or understand how business works, even when the hard work has already been done for them.

The Conservatives, under Kemi Badenoch, will have a different approach.

I will ensure that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is fast-moving, commercially focused and agile when it comes to dealing with tech and science businesses and investors. The Department will become the focal point for our key science and tech investors and be a strong voice across Whitehall for creating the conditions for technology and innovation to thrive, including through a pro-growth tax and regulatory environment – the opposite of what the Labour Government are currently creating.

In Government we created the Office for Investment (OFI) in 2020. This joint No.10/Treasury/Business Department unit acted as a “one-stop shop” to deliver a joined-up approach to dealing with the world’s most important investors, giving them tailored cross-Government support and making the UK the best place in the world to invest.

Labour’s anti-business approach means the OFI is now sidelined.

They struggled to find a Minister who wanted to take it on after the election, with even Peter Mandelson’s right-hand man turning down this vital job batting for Britain. Labour’s first Investment Minister wasn’t appointed until October 2024, four months after the election – and even then, she was widely panned, with one outlet describing her as “a surprise choice”. The OFI website’s news section hasn’t been updated since October 2024, reflecting its lack of activity. The OFI’s experienced Chief Executive left in December 2024.

Last week’s Emergency Budget also failed to improve Labour’s tech and science credentials.

There was no help for the tens of thousands of tech and science businesses hit by Labour’s National Insurance Jobs Tax, and no help for the hundreds of thousands of workers whose pay packets will be hit. There was still no funding or delivery plan for Labour’s shiny new AI Action Plan, hindering our global leadership in this vital sector. And there was no news about the UK’s new National Exascale Supercomputer which was going to be funded by the Conservatives and meant to be located at Edinburgh University – but cancelled by Labour within weeks of coming to power last July.

As we plan for a brighter future for science and technology under a Conservative Government – and more private sector investment into the sector – I welcome ideas from ConHome readers. Our policy renewal programme is underway, and a key part of my work will be examining ways to ensure our most important investors are treated with the respect they deserve. I’ll be looking at best practice in the United Kingdom and beyond, to understand what the optimal role of the state is in supporting investment in science and innovation.

Labour have proven one thing in the last 9 months: they don’t understand science and technology. And they certainly don’t understand how the business, commercial and investment aspects of these vital sectors work.

Conservatives do understand.

We will turn Britain into a science and technology superpower which is open for business and ready for investment.