This essay has been written by Laura Citron OBE, London and Partners, and forms part of a publication entitled ‘Perspectives on the role of London’s higher education sector in global AI leadership: A collection of essays’ which is being published on the London Higher website one part at a time.
London’s resilience as a global city is rooted in its ability to reinvent itself as the world changes. It has always evolved and allowed itself to be moulded depending on the needs of the day or the forces and events it has had to contend with. Whether it be the Great Fire in 1666, the Blitz in 1940, or more positively, hosting the Olympic games in 2012 – all of these, and more, have forced London to decide how to move on, prioritise, and deliver what the city needs.
As London moves into a new cycle of reinvention, defined by the election of a new government with a focus on growth and the beginning of the third term of its incumbent Mayor, now is the time for a new conversation on what London needs next. We may not currently be extinguishing great fires or building Olympic stadia, but we are living in a much more volatile world than we have done for many years. The climate crisis is something that we all need to be working to address, and the rate of technological change due to the innovation of AI is something that we need to be better at harnessing for the common good. So, we need to understand and prepare for what the future may hold (good and bad).
We need to provide a plan for how we, as London stakeholders, can grow the London economy to improve the lives of all Londoners, support UK prosperity and drive London’s green transition. A new London Growth Plan will articulate the vision for this next cycle of reinvention and how London responds to generational shifts: a city which is prospering, fairer and greener. As London’s growth agency, London & Partners is contributing to this. This new cycle must also reinvent London’s relationship with the rest of the UK, as a capital city in service of the nation.
On the face of it, this could feel like a particularly unwieldy undertaking, with the potential to pit so many differing views against each other, that it becomes hard to create a unified vision. It will only be a success if it encapsulates the views and priorities of a range of stakeholders. As such, this growth plan, being led by the Mayor and London Councils, is being developed in collaboration with stakeholders across the wider London ecosystem, including Londoners themselves.
The starting point has got be about building on London’s existing strengths as a global city and maintaining the attractiveness of London as a destination for business and investment. We already lead the way in a range of sectors such as AI (research in 2018 showed London was the European capital of AI), but we can’t rest on our laurels. We must be wise to the competition we face, and we must ensure that London is still an attractive place to be, whether you’re looking to start a business, a career or a family. We can do this by supporting our established sectors, and ensuring we have the housing and infrastructure in place to create opportunities that are readily available, no matter where you live.
We need to support innovative high-growth sectors in London, particularly in the areas of health and life sciences, digital, creative industries, climate tech and the energy sector. In order to thrive, these sectors need to be able to attract investment, have access to talent, and have the best physical spaces in which to work, underpinned by robust and sustainable energy provision. But this needs to be inclusive and cannot be done in isolation away from everyday Londoners.
Not all Londoners currently take part in, or benefit from London’s success. However, London’s higher education sector is an example of innovative, world-renowned institutions that already exist alongside London’s communities. Groundbreaking discoveries, world-leading research, and the study of the changing world around us is being carried out a stone’s throw from our high streets and town centres. Whether it’s King’s in Waterloo, Brunel in Uxbridge, or Queen Mary in Mile End – this sector continues to innovate, grow and thrive with Londoners at its heart. This shows the importance of having key anchor institutions located in a range of places that can be the stimulus for investment in public realm, infrastructure, housing and wider growth, while serving the needs of those who live there. If Londoners feel supported, feel part of London’s success, and feel that their dreams and aspirations can be realised here, then it will be a magnet for wider success.
Growth isn’t just about economics, it’s about how we grow in our own lives. It’s about our understanding of each other and our different needs. It’s about how we evolve, and about London’s continued evolution – being flexible, and moulded again to fit the needs of a new day. With clarity of vision, and a collective will to play our part, together, we can stimulate and sustain the growth that London needs in AI and other key sectors.
