Jacob Reid

Exclusive with @JacobReid02 Andy Burnham is facing calls from Labour MPs and some of his own officials to provide greater clarity on the UK’s AI policy after a muted response to recent doomsday warnings Science and tech committee chair Chi Onwurah tells Bloomberg it’s like the run-up to the financial crisis: “We need to take action. What’s the point in government if it can’t do anything about an existential threat?” Business and trade committee chair Liam Byrne makes a similar comparison: “Right now, the reality is that legislators don't know what they don't know. We know that historically self-regulation does not work” Some UK officials involved in tech policy express concerns that the Burnham government does not appear to be prioritising it, especially in light of the recent warnings which they say they agree with There is a lack of interest and knowledge about AI in No10 and among ministers and political advisers, one says. Another says they hope ministers will play more of a role in the face of the rising risks Burnham is grappling with a policy problem no major country has managed to resolve: the UK wants to seize the opportunity to be a leading player on cutting-edge AI technology and standards, and is seeing early signs that AI is behind a recent lift to an otherwise flat-lining economy It is also increasingly concerned about the risks shared at the weekend by the likes of Antrophic’s Dario Amodei and Open AI’s Sam Altman. And No10 is attuned to the scepticism of Labour MPs and British voters, many of whom are instinctively worried about AI threats, including to jobs There is also the reality that the AISI, seen as one of Britain’s best assets, is reliant on the cooperation of the US and China, as shown by Anthropic cutting it out of its latest model The dilemma left UK ministers with little to say this week in response to the warnings, a vacuum which is being filled by a chorus of voices calling for government to do more AI minister Kanishka Narayan, who is highly rated, has tried to show willing with an article in the Times today saying “nothing is off the table” in terms of regulation. That’s a big shift from when he told @patrickxrbaker he wasn’t worried about existential risks, but there is no policy detail yet It perhaps says a lot that a big UK meeting with AI leaders tomorrow is being convened by the King rather than government bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

NEW by @JacobReid02: Is Andy Burnham’s position on the fiscal rules settled? His choice of economic advisors strongly suggests not Andy Haldane and Jim O’Neill have repeatedly called for looser fiscal rules for years Haldane has said the case for changing them is “overwhelming” O’Neill has called them “petty and arbitrary” Richard Hughes, another Burnham adviser, has criticised the fiscal rules as ineffective Louise Haigh, Burnham’s top aide, has also repeatedly criticised the fiscal rules and suggested they should be changed. She recently wrote a paper with Yuan Yang, another close Burnham ally, calling for a new fiscal framework It is leaving economists unconvinced by Burnham’s claim during his campaign that he is fully committed to the existing fiscal rules “Don’t think this fiscal rules debate is settled,” warns @rbrharrison bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Great piece on the ground in Makerfield by @JacobReid02: bloomberg.com/news/features/…

— @JacobReid02 has shown the UK’s party system is now more fragmented, suggesting it’ll be hard for the Tories to win as they’re fighting on multiple fronts — in 2019 more than 2/3 of seats were straight Tory-Labour fights — in 2024 that was under half as Reform and Greens rose

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