Julia Lopez
Main Page: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)Department Debates - View all Julia Lopez's debates with the Cabinet Office
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Julia Lopez Excerpts(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Julia Lopez (Hornchurch and Upminster) (Con)
I was born in Harlow, would you believe it, Mr Speaker?
Can the Secretary of State guarantee that under Labour’s EU reset, Britain will not align with any EU tech rules, including the AI Act?
Liz Kendall
This Government want to ensure that we have a closer relationship with Europe, because we see every day the terrible impacts that the Conservatives’ Brexit deal brings. But I am also clear that we will continue our pragmatic, not dogmatic, approach to regulation, because Britain is the second country in the western world in AI, and we want to retain those benefits to grow the economy and create good jobs throughout the country.
Julia Lopez
There was no clear answer from the Secretary of State. It sounds like Labour is about to trade away our Brexit freedoms on tech regulation, yet tech Ministers have been briefing behind the scenes that we must not lose Britain’s Brexit freedoms on tech when it comes to AI, data and agritech. Will she now publicly admit what her Ministers have been briefing behind closed doors: Brexit was not some exercise in nostalgia pushed on us by uninformed thickos? It has given Britain a competitive advantage in the industries of the future.
Liz Kendall
Perhaps unusually, I do not listen to and never get involved in briefings, but I am very clear about the huge advantages this country has: world-leading talent and some of the most innovative tech start-ups. In the last year alone, we got more venture capital funding for tech and AI in this country than France and Germany combined. We are going to back Britain because we believe in Britain—£500 million in a sovereign AI fund and four AI growth zones in parts of the country that have been levelled up more under this Government than in 14 years under the Conservatives. We will seize this powerful technology to build a future that works for all, and I am proud of our work.