Politicians spell out their plans for IT

The substance of the IT policies of the two main UK political parties was revealed in various announcements during the first half of September. But it took the conference season, which ended earlier this month, to demonstrate their variations in style.

Only a few policy differences between the parties have emerged, however. The Conservatives have promised to 'reform' IR35, the tax change that pushed contractors into paying similar tax levels to those in full-time employment, while Labour, which introduced the policy, said it would leave the legislation alone.

The government also looks set to allow more skilled workers to immigrate to the UK - a move not ruled out by shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe, but one which would sit uncomfortably with the Tory desire to clamp down on so-called 'bogus asylum seekers'.

But both parties are keeping the issue of share option taxation - a bugbear for dotcoms - under review.

Neither said they would abandon the web-bugging Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act, however - something that is not surprising, considering both had a hand in its development. But the Liberal Democrats have pledged to repeal it.

So much for substance - back to style. Both main parties make much of their IT savvy: the Conservatives even broadcast their conference on the web - although, unfortunately, the computers shipped to Bournemouth's seafront convention centre were not able to handle multimedia. But, overall, Labour paid much more attention to IT-related issues than the Tories.

The fringe
On to the conference fringe though. This is similar to its Edinburgh Festival equivalent in that, although much more lively and much less slick than the main event, it arguably reveals the underlying zeitgeist more clearly.

There were about 12 IT-related fringe events listed at Labour's Brighton conference this year compared with six at the Conservatives' - and four of those were bipartisan events that were run at both conferences.

But that's only a measure of quantity, not quality. Ecommerce minister Patricia Hewitt maintained a high profile, speaking at five Labour meetings and virtually creating her own conference stream. Shadow technology minister Alan Duncan, on the other hand, appeared to speak at only two officially listed events.

Much of what Hewitt had to say will be familiar. She maintained the official line on the RIP Act as firmly as ever - in her capacity "as a parent and a civil libertarian" - at a meeting held by the Internet Watch Foundation. But she handled questions at the five meetings well, demonstrating her command of the IT brief.

The Tories' Duncan had less to say, but not by much. At an ecommerce seminar on the Tory conference fringe, he called for new considerations to be taken into account when drawing up commercial regulations. Existing procedures require a regulatory impact assessment to be taken to gauge the effect of a new law on the economy. Duncan thinks this should be extended to include a further assessment "as to whether new legislation assists the development of the New Economy".

The leaders
Philosophical differences between the parties were most apparent in the leaders' speeches, however. Tory leader William Hague's comments about a truck driver working day and night to feed his family were widely reported, but his other, less quoted, example of a put-upon working Brit referred to a software engineer (see party quotes below).

Blair's main reference to IT was in the form of a spending commitment: £710m in new money from 2002 to 2004, leading to one computer for every five secondary school pupils, with a ratio of one to eight for primary schools by 2004.

But does the IT industry want Labour to be so interventionist? "It's important to have a government that understands IT," says John Higgins, director general of the CSSA. "Some intervention is a small price to pay for that. We would prefer a government in tune with the industry, as long as it consults before it intervenes."

And the opposition's main stick to beat Labour with, IR35, is seen by many in the industry as less damaging than RIP or share-option taxes - areas in which some solid opposition would be widely welcomed. The Tory's IR35 stance may make it popular with contractors, but perhaps those who feel really strongly about the issue might have already left the country by now.

Otherwise, the Conservatives' main stance towards the IT sector seems to be that they would leave it pretty much alone. Maybe they've heard the old adage: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

IT: what they said at the seaside

Labour

"It could be for the new century what the Open University was to the 1960s and Channel 4 was to the 1980s." Culture secretary Chris Smith announces government spending of £5m on Culture Online, a web portal providing information on UK cultural resources such as museums and theatres.

"My first reaction was: 'this is ridiculous'. But we came to the view that it opened up greater consumer choice ... those who wanted the full frontal could have it on the net." Ecommerce minister Patricia Hewitt talking about a recent Channel 4 simulcast of a film on television (censored) and on the web (uncensored).

Conservatives

"The young software consultant that I met who shook his head as he talked of his plans to move abroad because of the stealth taxes he now faces wasn't being greedy ... We see our talent going abroad and we share his belief that our country cannot afford it and we will govern for him." Tory leader William Hague.

"New Labour may talk a good game, but in their actions they do real damage." Shadow technology spokesman Alan Duncan.