techUK Political Party Conferences 2021
techUK will be hosting a number of activities at Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat party conferences this year in partnership with a range of members, exploring some of the key issues facing the UK’s tech industry.
Conservative Party Conference, 3 – 6 October
Building Back Better, ensuring the plan for growth works for industry and business
Date & time: Monday 4 October, 17.00 - 18.30
Venue: Conservative Home Marquee
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Minister for Business and Industry Lee Rowley MP join a panel of senior representatives of major UK industries, including techUK, the ABPI and FDF, to assess the Government’s pledge to Build Back Better. How will the plan for growth work? What does the private sector need in order to best fulfil its potential?
Speakers:
- Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority
- Lee Rowley MP, Minister for Business and Industry
- Antony Walker, Deputy CEO techUK
- Ian Wright, Chief Executive of the Food and Drink Federation
- Dr Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries
- Suzanne Webb MP
Enterprise Forum, Business Reception
Date & time: Monday 4 October, 18.00-19.30
Venue: Exchange 9, Manchester Central
techUK is happy to partner again with the Enterprise Forum to host this year’s business reception with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak MP.
This event is invitation only and members wishing to attend the reception should reach out to techUK to be added to the guest list.
Speaker:
- Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Training a digital nation: how to ensure the UK has the right skills for the post-pandemic era
Date & time: Tuesday 5 October, 13.30-14.30
Venue: Exchange 6 & 7 combined, Manchester Central
The pandemic has shown us how important digital skills are, not just to building a resilient economy, but has supported collaboration and innovation within the UK as the country responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we look to the future attracting and building a strong digital skills pipeline is now a global race. In this panel we explore how the Government can work with educators and industry to build a digital skills system that is internationally competitive and can create pathways into the jobs of the future.
Invited speakers include:
- Antony Walker, Deputy CEO, techUK (chair),
- Matt Warman MP
- Jonathan Simons Director at Public First and Head of the Education Practice
- Charlotte Holloway, UK and Ireland Government Relations Director at Zoom
Fit for the future: how AI is tackling coronavirus and revolutionising UK healthcare
Date & time: Tuesday 5 October, 16.00-17.00
Venue: Exchange 6 & 7 combined, Manchester Central
In partnership with Nvidia, techUK and our panelists will explore how we apply emerging technologies such as AI to the UK’s greatest healthcare challenges. Having recently launched Cambridge-1, the UK’s most powerful supercomputer dedicated to advancing healthcare research Nvidia and its partners will be applying AI technologies to address world’s most complex health challenges. Cambridge 1’s first projects include developing a deeper understanding of brain diseases like dementia, using AI to design new drugs and improving the accuracy of finding disease-causing variations in human genomes.
Invited speakers include:
- Antony Walker, Deputy CEO, techUK (chair)
- Chris Philp MP, Minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
- Dr Nadine Hachach Haram, Founder of Proximie & Clinical Innovation Lead at Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Trust
- Natalie Grover, health and science journalist
- Craig Rhodes, EMEA Industry Lead AI for Healthcare and Life Science, Nvidia
The Tech Reception: how can tech support the UK to build back better after COVID-19?
Date & time: Tuesday 5 October, 2021, 20.30-22.00
Venue: Fairclough Suite, Midland Hotel
In partnership with Huawei, join techUK and representatives from industry and across the Conservative Party to discuss how tech can support the UK to build back better after COVID-19 over a few drinks.
Speaker:
- Katherine Fletcher MP
Labour Party Conference, 25 – 29 September
The new normal for SMEs: how can digital tools help businesses across the UK to grow?
Date & time: Monday 27 September, 15.30-16.30
Venue: Avon Room, Hilton Brighton Metropole
In partnership with Facebook, the discussion will focus on how the Labour Party can shape policy around what comes next for business and workers after the accelerated adoption of digital technologies over the last year. How can we ensure businesses of all sizes can access and use technology; and how do these new tools help employees and employers build better more flexible work opportunities?
Invited speakers include:
- Neil Ross, Head of Policy, techUK (chair)
- Richard Earley, Public Policy Manager, Facebook
- Dr George Dibb, Head of Centre for Economic Justice, IPPR
- Paul Sweeney MSP, Shadow Minister for Public Finance & Employment.
The Tech Reception: how can tech support the UK to build back better after COVID-19?
Date & time: Monday 27 September, 17.45
Venue: Gloucester Room, Hilton Brighton Metropole
In partnership with Huawei and SME4Labour, join techUK and representatives from industry and across the Labour Party to discuss how can tech support the UK to build back better after COVID-19 over a few drinks.
Speaker:
- Chi Onwurah, Shadow Minister (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), and Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Liberal Democrat Conference, 17 – 20 September
Business Reception 2021 – techUK sponsorship in partnership with Huawei
Date & time: Friday 17th September, 17:00 to 18:30
Venue: The Stanley Building, 7 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG
techUK Tech and Innovation Director Sue Daley will address the Liberal Democrats’ business reception alongside Sir Ed Davey MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Mike Cherry OBE, National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses.
Neil Ross
As Associate Director for Policy Neil leads on techUK's public policy work in the UK. In this role he regularly engages with UK and Devolved Government Ministers, senior civil servants and members of the UK’s Parliaments aiming to make the UK the best place to start, scale and develop a tech business.