Sovereignty in the Age of AI

The United Kingdom is a global technology powerhouse, ranking third in the world for artificial intelligence and leading all G7 nations in scientific research impact. Yet, British innovation is being held back by regulatory uncertainty, severe funding gaps, and growing reliance on foreign technology.

A staggering 71% of UK businesses cite unclear rules as a barrier to adopting AI, while 93% of seed-funded startups fail to secure scale-up capital, forcing our best tech talent overseas. Furthermore, 55% of central government organisations host over 60% of their digital infrastructure on cloud services supplied by just two US-based tech giants - leaving our critical public functions dangerously exposed to foreign dependence.

Liberal Democrats believe in a distinctly liberal approach to AI: one that seizes the benefits of technological progress while keeping Big Tech accountable and defending digital sovereignty. Today, Liberal Democrat members passed a forward-looking policy to back British tech, bridge the scale-up funding gap, and ensure AI benefits every community.

Our new policy calls on the Government to:

• Secure British Digital Sovereignty: Develop a comprehensive digital sovereignty strategy using strategic public procurement to boost the British economy and security, and prevent total reliance on foreign tech monopolies for critical public services.
   
• Ethical AI Regulation: Develop an ethical framework for AI regulation through a strengthened AI Security Institute, with proportional limits on frontier AI systems development.
   
• Bridge the Scale-Up Funding Gap: Review the £250,000 Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) limit, introduce a scientist-led upfront pre-clearance system for R&D tax relief, and quintuple proof-of-concept funding to £200 million.
   
• Raise R&D Spending to 3.5% of GDP: Establish a national science and technology strategy backed by long-term, inflation-proofed multi-year research budgets.
   
• Prioritise British Tech in Procurement: Give British technology firms preference in public contracts and trial a 30% "social value" weighting when procuring digital services.
   
• Deliver Community Benefits from Data Infrastructure: Require new AI data centres to provide local jobs, offer skills training, and route waste heat directly into district heating networks or clean electricity generation.
   
• Close the AI Skills Divide: Introduce a National People's Strategy that embeds foundational critical thinking and digital skills into the school curriculum, backed by formal AI training for state school teachers and a lifelong AI training guarantee for adults.
   
• Expand Regional Innovation and Sandboxes: Create a network of regional innovation centres and launch local authority "AI Sandboxes" where startups can test real-world public service models.
   
• Guarantee Gigabit Broadband Everywhere: Complete a nationwide rollout of gigabit broadband to rural and remote areas, embedding access and upskilling hubs in local libraries.

Technological progress should empower individuals, strengthen local communities, and solve real-world problems in healthcare, energy, and manufacturing.

The Liberal Democrats are ready to establish the UK as a world leader in responsible, democratic AI - backing home-grown talent, protecting national security, and ensuring technology works for everyone.