Disinformation is a battle we cannot afford to lose
Technology isn’t good or bad – it’s a tool. But it can transform lives. The printing press caused a revolution in thinking, not just in communication. And the mass dissemination of information to the general public, shattered power structures across the world. One of...
We cannot sub-contract our children’s education to ‘Netflix’.
What have the Victorians ever done for us? Railways, the telephone, the lightbulb, the car, even Jacob Rees-Mogg’s preferred mode of transport the Penny Farthing, all spring instantly to mind. The Victorian era saw an explosion in innovation and...
Teachers are the change makers in closing the digital skills gap
In 2018, the House of Commons Education Select Committee described the development of digital skills for young people as “crucial to the success of the fourth industrial revolution”. This need has been exemplified, and most likely accelerated, by the COVID-19...
We Must fix digital inequality now before it is too late
With each passing day technology plays a more important role in the world. It’s near impossible to go a day in your life without relying on it. As the digital sphere expands in its capability and usefulness, we entrust more and more of our personal details and...
Business and school engagement through #STEM
It starts at birth: we put girls into pink babygrows and boys into blue ones. Then we give girls prams and dolls to play with and boys get train sets and fire engines. Research has shown that by the age of six children already see males and females in specific...
Health tech: how to make it work for the multifaceted NHS
Technology is increasingly centre stage in healthcare, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. While technology can radically transform healthcare, the big question is how to deploy it in a way that is beneficial, cost-effective, and, above all, safe....
Amidst the challenges of a pandemic, we could lead the Health Tech Revolution
Despite this horrendous pandemic, something important is beginning. A health tech revolution. For decades, the main talking points at a political level seem to circle on familiar ground. An insatiable demand for more funding for the NHS – and certainly from Labour,...
Digital healthcare isn’t just for the tech-savvy
COVID-19 has undoubtedly been one of the greatest challenges the UK has faced in decades and our health and care sectors have been pushed to their limits. However, crisis can breed innovation, and the rapid expansion of telemedicine - remote diagnosis and treatment,...
Participatory budgeting: how tech can help local democracy thrive
Local Government spending decisions impact our daily lives in perhaps the most immediate sense: how much a bus ticket costs; what days the local library is open; and is it Tuesday or Wednesday that the recycling is collected? In the UK, different levels of Local...
A social media complaints ombudsman is long overdue
Social media platforms aren’t doing enough to support human beings let alone locally elected officials. Regulation is now a necessary step, starting with an ombudsman. Back in around 2007 I was a social media pioneer for the Conservative Party. I set up a Page for...