The main reason the US has been and is growing at twice the rate of the EU and the UK is its leadership in the digital revolution. The US has produced all the dominant western companies in software, mobile phones and pads, search, on line shopping, cloud storage, social media and complex chip production. The EU and UK just have to use these US services, and allow the US corporations to set up this side of the Atlantic to serve the customers.
Out of the EU the UK now has a bit less onerous regulatory regime than the EU for innovatory digital business, and has a growing cluster of smaller digital success stories which we need to build on. So I was dismayed to read recently that some in the UK government see the wish for large corporations to invest in many more large data centres in the UK as bad news. They apparently are arguing that these centres would require too much electricity and water which they do not want to supply so we should say No.
This is the ultimate madness. Far from saving the planet it just means we would need to link to overseas centres where the extra energy and water would still be used. If the government was serious about renewable power being able to answer all our problems they would get on and provide it by commissioning far more they have to date. If they were more realistic and worried about costs and reliability they will get on and put in some additional new efficient gas fired power stations alongside replacement nuclear for our soon to close stations and more wind and sun powered plant. Controlling migration properly would also help, reducing the number of extra people that will need power as well the extra business demand.
We are short of water which is also silly in a country with plenty of rainfall. New reservoirs are urgently needed for existing growing demand let alone for the new data centres. Just get on with it.
More data centre investment can drive more growth in energy and water supply. That is the way you grow a modern economy. Why stay limping along in the EU slow lane when we can join the new data super highway to prosperity?
February 25, 2026
Good morning.
Why create anything when all that will happen is that the government will tax it all from you.
I Dubai the level of Corporation Tax is 8% as opposed to our 19-25%. If you have transferable skills, why work here ?
What is being created here is a welfare dependent society. A society that, will be further managed via your carbon credit score. The EU and the UK do not want a modern functioning society. They want control.