#DebateTech: the future’s bright, the future’s digital…

Thanks to some fantastic ambassadors for London’s tech industry, a great manifesto with some tangible asks (Russ Shaw’s Tech London Advocates, TechUK and Centre for London) and a fab venue (HereEast), the first mayoral hustings took place with 86 days to go until the big vote.

It is no great surprise that the mayoral candidates focused on tech first. Tech has become London’s great success story and we need to keep it this way. But Berlin and other European cities are snapping at London’s heels. There is real potential here, but it needs to be harnessed. The Mayor has a huge role to ensure that London continues to flourish as tech centre of excellence, and indeed, pushes forward to lead the world as a “digital city”.

Overall impression

The event was really well-organised, flowed seamlessly and I was lucky enough to meet some great people. The London’s Digital Future manifesto (www.techlondonadvocates.org.uk/content/uploads/2016/01/Londons-Digital-Future-PDF.pdf) is robust, well-written and the policy aims should be achievable with the right will to succeed and the right people to make it happen.

The candidates were wholeheartedly supportive of the aims of the manifesto. In fact, it was notable that there was more acquiescence than debate. As Alex Wood (@alexwoodcreates) tweeted: “Chief Digital Officer is the new must have accessory this election season.”

But seriously…

The candidates have a lot to learn about London’s burgeoning tech industry with the exception of Green Party candidate, Sian Berry — the only candidate to have worked in tech. But where there’s a will there’s a way — and there needs to be a will to ensure that London doesn’t get left behind and maintains and grows its position.

The Mayor as figurehead…

So the candidates being on a learning curve isn’t that big an issue. The Mayor, as Zac Goldsmith pointed out, is the figure to champion London’s position as major digital player. Boris Johnson has started this well. The successful candidate will need to ensure that the right infrastructure is in place to encourage the kind of investment technology companies require, particularly at seed and start-up level and also that the transport, buildings, broadband are all fit for purpose and work well. London needs to be a hub, not to mention encouraging people with the right skills to work and live here, as well as up-skilling the existing London population (more on this later).

But the Mayor is only as good as his/her advisers…

Having worked in the public sector and also as a lobbyist, ministers/parliamentarians are, in my view, only ever as good as their advisers, be they employees or lobbyists. The proposal for City Hall to embrace digital is strong. The appointment of a CDO alongside an Office of Data Analytics internally to bring together the work of 33 London boroughs and other public services to ensure that data is shared and therefore bring best practice to the fore is now necessary. This has the potential to reduce costs, give information in an open way that will enhance the infrastructure and rhythm of the city, be that commuter flows to inform and encourage agile working, or the ability to identify and manage the “digitally disengaged” (there are 18% of them) amongst many other things.

To ensure the greatest chance of success, culture and change must be embraced at the top of organisations. The CDO to champion digital across London is a way to build a collective understanding and better ways of working in the public sector and beyond. Putting digital at the heart of City Hall will send a strong global message.

Skills, education, immigration…

These are huge topics and cannot be dealt with in detail here. But they are key headline areas where the Mayor will need to have a really close working relationship with central government. This is, I suspect, where Zac Goldsmith has the slight edge over other candidates, but it is absolutely incumbent upon the government and the successful candidate to put aside political issues for the good of the city. London’s success does not need to come at the expense of other cities across the UK, but we need to focus on what is already here and build on it, so the asks in the manifesto around Tier 2 and Third Party Sponsorship visas are especially welcome — and where the Mayor will need to lobby central government hard whilst simultaneously showcasing the city as a place where digital experts want to be and very clearly articulating why this is.

But the future can also be made stronger by identifying potential talent in situ. Younger people must understand the opportunities that technology can give — no longer does it have to be all about an amazing academic record. This does not build businesses, nor always success. Working with the private sector, identifying present and future skills’ shortages, is key and the recommendations on digital apprenticeships and the tech talent pipeline are spot-on. So spot-on that Sadiq Khan said that the London tech talent pipeline would surpass its New York equivalent!

Diversity in tech…

For all that “creativity is the backbone of the digital economy” (Douglas McWilliams, “Flat White Economy”, p30, Duckworth & Overland, 2015), there was some discussion amongst the female mayoral candidates about ensuring flexible working to enable women to flourish in the increasingly digital world. This is fairly lazy fallback. The disparity between male and female work success and salaries starts early, not to ignore other diversity issues. But we need to approach the excitement of the growing digital economy with an expectation that we are in a place where equality for all can really thrive with the right kind of policies and this isn’t just about women. As Mark Martin, aka @urban_teacher noted in the post-event analysis and via Twitter — wider community engagement and also, engaging teachers, is crucial. If we get them all young, then surely a lack of diversity shouldn’t be the issue in the future that it is today?

But who gets the vote?

It’s well-documented that people vote differently in local elections to national ones. I have long had an idea who I would vote for in this mayoral election and on the basis of the debate, I haven’t changed my mind. But, overall, on the quality of commentary and the ability to look at the biggest picture possible for London, there’s no change from the standard two-man (sadly!) race and that came across at the event.

And finally…

The potential of tech is great. Its existence is a real positive for change to the economy, as is having great advocates — they are all here in this city! Take note candidates — you have a job to do, but all the right elements are in place.

Here’s to the outcome of 5th May 2016 — the future’s bright, it’s collaborative and it’s most certainly digital.