Embracing digital technology will help the City to shape the future of the UK

As the 691st lord mayor of Canada, I follow a long continuum dating back to 1189, before the Magna Carta.

My focus over the next 12 months will be on how the City can help shape the UK’s future. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, British innovations such as railways, cotton mills and coal-powered factories fuelled the industrial revolution.

Today, the UK is again at the forefront of a global revolution: the digital revolution. Big data, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing are transforming the way that we live and that businesses operate across the globe.

That is why I am dedicating my mayoral programme to “Shaping Tomorrow’s City Today”.

This will be centred on promoting innovation and technology, championing digital skills, and addressing digital and social inclusion.

First, we will promote the UK’s world-leading financial and professional services both domestically and during visits to around 30 key international markets.

This will include showcasing fast-growing sectors such as fintech and green finance, while also taking advantage of opportunities to promote digital innovations in other areas such as education and cyber, as the boundaries between industries become ever more blurred.

Second, we will champion digital skills to ensure that the UK has a sufficiently skilled workforce. It is vital that those not yet in work – as well as those in work – have the right skills to thrive in our increasingly digital economy.

Specifically, we will promote the DQ Institute’s Digital Intelligence system as the emerging global standard for digital skills, endorsed by the World Economic Forum and the OECD.

Finally, we will push forward with our work on digital and social inclusion. The speed of change means that several million people in this country are at risk of being left behind. The elderly, the poor, and the disabled are particularly vulnerable to digital exclusion.

Part of the solution lies in partnerships between companies, colleges and communities to build a new model of digital citizenship. This should be designed to protect the vulnerable, enable equal access to online services, and enhance quality of life in the digital age for everyone.

Of course, it would be remiss to not mention Brexit when looking ahead to the next 12 months.

We are at a critical moment in the negotiations, and I look forward to hearing the Prime Minister’s thoughts tonight at Guildhall. It is important that we get this right for households and businesses on both sides of the Channel.

Our focus is on trade, transition, and continued access to talent. In the short term, it is also essential that steps are taken to mitigate potential cliff-edge effects if there is a no-deal scenario.

That said, it is important to remember that the world is not stopping for Brexit. We need to seize new opportunities to ensure that the City remains a world-leading international financial centre.

Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, and Sir Tim Berners-Lee are just some of the digital pioneers that have enabled the UK to lead the world in realising the potential of new technologies.

I believe that the City can build on their work to realise a vision of the UK as an innovative and inclusive digital nation.