Digital and Technology Policy: National Sovereignty

Lord Ranger of Northwood Excerpts

Thursday 23rd July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ranger of Northwood (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Drayson. We share our views on the Science and Technology Committee. I know his passion and commitment for British technology. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, for securing this debate at this crucial time, and declare my interests in supporting British tech businesses VE3, Great Wave AI and Automated Analytics and as a co-founder of the Business AI Alliance.

Future generations will look back at this period of the 21st century as the moment we unlocked the next stage of human potential. Through our advancements in science and technology, we stand on the cusp of dramatically accelerating change in our lives, our societies and perhaps even our politics. In a relatively short time, we will see legions of driverless vehicles, flocks of flying taxis, oodles of agentic digital money, armies of personal robots, precision preventive medicine, and wearable and even bionic enhancements. I believe we shall solve some of the greatest challenges of our age. We shall redefine what we mean by work and leisure. We shall create, discover and travel further than we have ever travelled before, even to the stars.

This is all to come but at this still early stage of our technological evolution, we must think carefully about the foundations upon which these extraordinary achievements will be built. Beneath the excitement lies a rather traditional contest between nation states for technological supremacy. That brings me to the question before us today. What do we mean by national sovereignty in the digital age? For decades, we assumed that globalisation would diminish the importance of borders. That era is changing. We are witnessing the fragmentation of that globalised settlement. Economic security has become national security. Data has become a strategic asset. Artificial intelligence has become an instrument of geopolitical competition. Increasingly, political influence is exercised not only through Governments but through globally significant businesses that carry the strategic interests of their home nations. The United States has made its choice. China has made its choice. The question before us today is whether Britain is prepared to make ours.

Having spent much of my career working with some of the world’s largest tech businesses across multiple continents, I have seen first-hand that the relationship between Governments and global technology companies has become one of the defining features of modern statecraft. Their influence on investment, standards, infrastructure, talent and, increasingly, national resilience cannot be ignored. We know that sovereignty in the digital age is no longer simply about where our borders lie but about whether Britain possesses the capability and confidence to shape our own technological destiny rather than merely consume technologies designed elsewhere.

The choice is where our sensitive data resides, who builds critical infrastructure and how emerging technologies reflect our values and serve our national interests. Against this backdrop, I confess to finding it regrettable that at precisely the moment technology is becoming central to every aspect of government the Government have chosen to abolish the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Departments matter. Priorities matter. Institutional structures signal intent. Sovereignty is not achieved through talking about technology but by making clear strategic choices about where Britain will lead and where we will compete.

Are we truly prepared to back our world-leading universities and research institutions to provide the innovations that will define tomorrow’s economy? Are we prepared to ensure that our entrepreneurs and start-ups and scale-ups secure the investment they need to scale globally while remaining proudly British? Are we determined that the City of London will remain the world’s leading international financial centre in the age of digital assets, digital money and tokenised finance? Are we prepared to invest in sovereign capabilities that will determine our competitiveness for generations to come?

Digital sovereignty is not simply about artificial intelligence but about ensuring that British ideas become British industries and that British innovation creates British prosperity. Then British values will continue to shape the technologies that will shape the world. I do not believe that the nations that prosper in this century will have to invent and scale every technology. There will be those with the confidence and strategic clarity to decide which capabilities matter most to their national interest and then back those choices with conviction.

Britain has led great technological revolutions before, and history teaches us that success is never accidental. It requires clear political vision and enduring partnerships and structures between government, academia and industry. Above all, it requires the resolve to stay the course until the job is done. So let us be clear about the choices we make. I ask the Minister and the Government to define with confidence and ambition what British digital sovereignty means, not only to ourselves but to the rest of the world. Then we can measure and manage our sovereignty posture. If we can do that, Britain will not simply adapt to the technological age, we will play our full part in defining it.