I am passionate about small business and helping business grow. It was an absolute honour to serve in Government working in these areas and I am proud to have helped invest in our future companies, business leaders and science innovators. I continue to visit small and growing business in Hove, Portslade and Hangleton to support them and help in any way I can.
As the government’s tech lead, I reached out to industry and spoke about building a positive environment for technology and innovation. An additional focus was fuelling economic growth through tech, as well as building up civil servants’ AI skills.
On my first day as trade minister, I talked up an “ambitious” growth agenda. This included the goal of having the UK’s first ever trillion-dollar company: “I want government to be seen as an active partner that delivers success, supports new business and backs wealth creation,” I said to Sky TV.
I also said that I would be coordinating work with other departments, mirroring an approach I had taken as technology minister when dealing with government policy on data.
I often talked about building up the UK’s AI sector and encouraging its adoption across business and government: “Artificial intelligence will shape our economies, our security, and our place in the world,” is something I really believe in.
I am also a strong supporter of AI’s use as a possible life-saving device. In 2023, after seeing AI used in hospitals, I told the Telegraph: “Had my mum benefited from a scan in this hospital she would still be alive today.” My mother, Jo Kyle, died from lung cancer in 2021, only weeks after collapsing and being admitted to hospital.
