Digital Startups Call On Next Government To Bring Policy Into The 21st Century

Over 150 startups and VCs back Coadec’s Startup Manifesto, including: King,TransferWise, SwiftKey, Lovestruck, Funding Circle, MOO, Index Ventures, Passion Capital, Seedcamp, Unruly and Accel Partners

London, 3 September – The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) today published The Startup Manifesto, setting out 24 ways the next government should make Britain a world leader in digital innovation, including:

• Cutting taxes for entrepreneurs, including reducing National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for startups that volunteer to teach coding;
• Retraining those made redundant by disruptive technology, rather than blocking innovation through protective regulation;
• Opening the doors to tech talent from outside the EU by restoring the post-study work visa and allowing VCs to sponsor employees on behalf of startups;
• Backing the UK’s lead in financial technology by creating a legal framework for Bitcoin, and digitising the identity checks required for Anti-Money Laundering procedures.

The full list of recommendations and endorsements can be found below. Startup Manifesto attached and available here.

Guy Levin, Executive Director of Coadec, said: “Today – with the backing of over 150 digital startups and investors – we’re launching 24 recommendations for the next government. Political parties interested in creating jobs, fostering innovation and making Britain a world leader in technology should give it a read.”

Taavet Hinrikus, Co-founder of TransferWise, said: “Within a decade, technology will have transformed the world as we know it. Banking, for instance, is already changing, and London appears – at least for the moment – to be leading the way. However, there is so much more the next government could do to secure this. And some of it is as simple as speeding up the installation time for high-speed broadband or making it easier to hire great people from overseas.” Jeff Lynn, Founder of Seedrs and Chairman of Coadec, said: “I founded Coadec because there wasn’t a united voice speaking up for startups in political debates. Launching today’s manifesto with over 150 endorsements from the startup community, including King, Moo, SwiftKey, Shazam, and TransferWise, is a great vote of confidence in what we’re doing.” A launch event will be held tonight (3 September) at Google Campus in Shoreditch, chaired by Guy Levin (Executive Director or Coadec) with Taavet Hinrikus (Co-Founder of TransferWise), Eileen Burbidge (Partner at Passion Capital) and Gerard Grech (CEO of Tech City UK).