“Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
“Britain is laying the digital foundations of the next century, and whether that succeeds depends on choices your government makes now.“
– Richard Clifford, VP of Sales and Solutions at Salute
The promise I would most like to see your government keep is…
I’d ask this government to keep AI and digital infrastructure at the centre of its agenda, with continued senior, Cabinet-level ownership – the appointment of Kanishka Narayan was a big step in the right direction here.
There’s a global AI race underway, and it will be won by the countries that commit for the long term. The AI Growth Zones were the right instinct, five designated so far, with £28.2 billion of investment and more than 15,000 jobs behind them.
What matters now is that this survives a change of government and a change of departmental structure. Investors need confidence that AI remains a strategic priority, not a headline.
The government has already made a firm commitment to vocational education through its proposed education reforms, and this will be crucial, too, as we look to train the next generation of data centre technicians.
Please don’t…
I would urge against building infrastructure for communities rather than with them. Instead integrated master planning, where developers, the grid, local authorities and residents are coordinated around one shared plan, turns friction into benefit, local jobs, investment, reused heat and power.
Get that right and projects actually move faster, because people want them and see the projects as net positives for their community. I’d also caution against letting AI leadership drift between departments; fragmented ownership sends the worst possible signal to the investors deciding where to commit billions.
What would make the UK a more attractive place to build and scale a company is…
For me it comes down to four things working together.
The first is integrated master planning that aligns communities, developers and the grid around one coordinated plan for the benefit of all.
Alongside that, faster planning decisions and grid connections, so infrastructure can get built, and a serious skills pipeline to staff it once it is.
Underpinning all of it, policy stability, so investors can plan a decade ahead with confidence. For the UK and Europe to truly capitalise on the opportunities ahead it’s crucial to agree on these factors.
What gives me confidence in Britain’s future is…
Our talent and our institutions, mostly. Britain still attracts world-class engineers and remains a natural home for AI and digital infrastructure investment.
The roles this sector creates are skilled, well-paid and spread far beyond London, a genuine opportunity for parts of the country that industrial change left behind, which is another priority for the government, as Andy Burnham has already set out.
With the right skills, integrated planning and infrastructure behind it, I think the UK can claim a leading place on the world stage.
If you take one thing from this letter, let it be this:
Digital infrastructure, and the skilled people to run it, are the foundation of the growth you want. Back both consistently, and everything else becomes possible.
My hopes and dreams for 2030…
A few things would need to be true. I’d point to a generation of British workers in skilled data centre roles that simply didn’t exist in 2026, brought in through real training pathways. I’d point to infrastructure delivered through integrated master planning, built with communities rather than against them, sharing power, heat and jobs with the places that host it. I’d point to planning decisions and grid connections measured in months rather than years. AI will still hold a strong, senior voice at the centre of government, proof the commitment was real rather than just rhetoric.
