back to article Techies ask PM to 'prepare UK chip strategy as a matter of urgency'

Tech industry luminaries have politely asked the UK Prime Minister to pull his finger out when it comes to delivering a strategy for the future of the UK semiconductor sector, or it may not have one at all. In a letter [PDF] sent to the PM (Rishi Sunak at the time of writing), the IT pros point out that semiconductors are " …

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  1. hoola Silver badge

    It depends on what they are trying to achieve

    And also on The Register we have:

    https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/20/foundry_revenues_cliff/?td=keepreading

    If the argument is that we need to have chip fabrication plants in the UK for security then maybe but it all depends on what they are making.

    Just have a chip fab is only part of the equation. Not all plants produce the same chips.

    1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

      Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

      Setting up a plant is one thing, another is having people that can make use of it.

      With UK poor wages, horrible public services, world highest taxes, claustrophobic housing, I am sure they'll find some experts who can work anywhere in the world ;-)

      1. heyrick Silver badge

        Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

        Poor wages = more profit.

        Horrible public services - healthcare isn't provided by the company = more profit.

        World's highest taxes - for the little people maybe, for the rich... = more profit.

        Claustrophobic housing - not that different to parts of other countries, and better than some.

        1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

          Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

          Claustrophobic housing - not that different to parts of other countries, and better than some.

          There is a conspiracy that says housing is limited so that people won't have space to explore their hobbies that could then turn into business and then challenge the rich.

          Also to keep up with the model - wake up, go to work, work, go to pub, come home, sleep, repeat. As this is making the rich the most money.

          1. Mike 137 Silver badge

            Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

            "There is a conspiracy that says..."

            Do you mean 'conspiracy theory' or is there actually a conspiracy to promulgate this argument?

            1. adam 40 Silver badge
              Pirate

              Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

              I agree with elsergiovolador

              So - it's now a conspiracy!

      2. Binraider Silver badge

        Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

        Why not also chuck in the highest energy costs in Europe; our high water costs; ludicrous land pricing, and planning permission that is a contradiction in terms with regards letting developers do anything. I do not disagree with the sentiment that UK's has to look to the high-value added sector to work. The conditions to enable this are grossly lacking; as are the supply chain of the skills needed to do it.

        Ill thought out measures like "compulsory study maths to 18"; tuition fees approaching par with the US; and dreadful conditions in primary & secondary teaching are only scratching the surface of the problems to address.

        There is no overnight fix; and decades of neglect are coming home to roost. When there's evidence of concerted action over an extended period, maybe one can get enthusiastic again.

        1. jmch Silver badge

          Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

          "I do not disagree with the sentiment that UK's has to look to the high-value added sector to work"

          the thing is....

          - every other country is also looking to increase their slice of the high-value-added pie

          - the low-value-added work still needs to get done.

          - you can't get any high-value work done if you don't have basic infrastructure in place.

          It's useless having thousands of bright university graduates who can design the best chips if there aren't the builders, plumbers and electricians to set up infrastructure, planners and architects to design everything and make sure it all works together, technicians to get the work done, competent teachers giving everyone their first steps, primary healthcare workers taking care of everyone.

          Assigning priority and status (and related decent salaries) only to high-value technology cannot work if *everyone else on the lower levels of the pyramid is treated like shit* which seems to be the current ethos in the UK.

          1. Binraider Silver badge

            Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

            Agree entirely. Infrastructure and trades are hopelessly undervalued, except to profiteer off.

            What are our schools & universities turning out today? Non-academic kids have virtually no access to hands-on training that would otherwise lead to them being tradesmen - a far better route for those types of individual than insisting on endless academic credentials that they are neither interested in or suited for.

            Or useless degrees in, for example, "Gender Studies", or "Leisure and Tourism".

            Nothing wrong with a management degree, or psychology; there are practical uses for both. But lets drop the pretention and properly support groups that lead to positive trade balance.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

        If it was competitively priced, easy to source and as performant as the alternatives. I'd use the shit out of it.

        Nothing would make me happier than being able to build solutions that I can slap "Made in Britain" on.

        Britain used to be world famous for engineering and engineers. We still have the finest engineers in the world, but we have to use and implement foreign made tech.

        Sometimes I feel like Chief O'Brien on DS9 dealing with fucking Cardassian tech.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

          What do you mean you don't have a second backup?!!!

          I am proud to say my employer's modus operandi is to have at least a second backup for anything major.

          This will never stop the money men trying to slash things in false economies. The risk is if "new" management come in with new fangled ideas to upset the cart. They do that, I'm off.

    2. NeilPost Silver badge

      Re: It depends on what they are trying to achieve

      … and do what with the chips ??

      Ship them to China/India/Taiwan/Turkey/Vietnam to the electronics factories as most of them here have already been long closed.

      Full supply and manufacturing chain.

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-35428124.amp

  2. elsergiovolador Silver badge

    Worry Not

    As soon as PM figures out how Infosys could make chips it will come home!

  3. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
    FAIL

    25 years too late

    Or maybe it should have been done when Harold (Mr Gannex and pipe) Wilson was PM back in the 1960's as part of his 'white heat of technology' revolution.

    1. 3arn0wl

      'Leave it to the markets'

      Has been the attitude of successive UK governments for the last 40 years - and probably since Wilson's time, really.

      ---

      The article might also have mentioned India, which seems to be putting a strategy in place.

      Herman Hauser has been very vocal on this issue - I see his name now though, and my immediate reaction is "Arm protectionism".

    2. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: 25 years too late

      Only 25 years?

      Showing my age, I remember lack of technology strategy of the Thatcher government in the early 80’s. It took some pushing for the government to invest in the European research programme and then to actually support UK businesses (small or large) to apply for funding…

      The Conservative approach to the brain drain, caused by the lack of investment and uk business/government unwillingness to pay market rates, was to approach the US government and get them to restrict the awarding of visa’s to UK nationals wishing to work in the US (the main destination of UK technology experts).

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 25 years too late

        One thing to note about the Government's technology strategy is that it's coming from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Other industries are covered by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. But it's digital innit, so...

        1. JassMan

          Re: 25 years too late

          "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had planned to publish a semiconductor strategy "in autumn 2022," the report authors noted, but this has still to put in an appearance."

          I always read DCMS as Digital Culture, Digital Media and Digital (in the other sense) Sport. Certainly not a department to produce anything about Technology.

          Not only is this government out of touch with how real people have to live on food bank handouts but it appears they wouldn't know the difference a chip to go in a computer and one to eat with a piece of cod.

          1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

            DTI

            In the days of Mrs T, it would have been the Department for Trade and Industry. Or, as Private Eye would refer to them... Department of Timidity and Inaction

      2. Binraider Silver badge

        Re: 25 years too late

        The effects of the Computer Literacy Programme delivered by the BBC was arguably one of the biggest boosts to UK employment through the 1990s. Tech moves but the ideals behind such programmes and the results they produced cannot be denied. What do we have now? GCSE Bitesize and League Tables.

        Looking at the wrong KPIs our civil service (and government) are.

        1. omz13

          Re: 25 years too late

          I remember that time very well, and it yielded me a nice career in computing. I’d say that such programmers were successful despite the government, who then and now, could not tell a computer from a box of eggs.

    3. Herring`

      Re: 25 years too late

      To a certain extent, it was.

      They had the National Enterprise Board which played a part in getting the Cambridge companies like Sinclair and Acorn off the ground. Acorn got the massive boost from the BBC involvement which allowed them and people like the Legend Sophie Wilson to step up and produce the Acorn Risc Machine processor which became ARM and here we are.

      I can't see it happening again as the country has long been run by arts graduates and/or people who work in The City - to whom the idea of investing in something that might pay off in 10 years' time is an anathema.

  4. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Deluded is as hubris advises and ignorance servers with arrogance delivering on empty promises

    Techies ask PM to 'prepare UK chip strategy as a matter of urgency’

    Oh, FFS, was there ever a more obvious case of the blind leading the blind. Such a request presupposes and expects that PM might actually know of someone, or know of someone who knows someone able to deliver on an urgent UK strategy, and he and the government of the Conservative Party and the members of Parliament in the Houses of Commons and Lords clearly haven’t a fcuking clue or baldy notion about either who to call or what to do about it for the greater good of more than just their sad pathetic sorry self-serving selves.

    And y’all know that is true fact despite what the crazies out there might say in a mad carping disagreement.

    1. wobball
      Pint

      Re: Deluded is as hubris advises and ignorance servers with arrogance delivering on empty promises

      Bloody hell, I understood that!

      You've dropped your crap ML bot mask for once AMFM1 and I applaud you for your relatively well expressed sentiments.

      Have a beer on me!

    2. annodomini2

      Re: Deluded is as hubris advises and ignorance servers with arrogance delivering on empty promises

      where is amanfromMars 1 and what have you done with them?

  5. NewModelArmy
    Meh

    Autumn 2022 Report DCMS Minister is.....

    For a report to be presented in Autumn 2022, then the minster in charge would at least have to have some semblance of competency.

    This is where the Tories have fallen down. Dorries was the DCMS minister. That is the Dorries who said :

    Channel 5 did well after privatisation (it was always privately owned),

    Channel 4 is funded by the government when it is funded solely by advertising etc.,

    and 95% of the population thought privatising Channel 4 was a good thing when the poll actually said the complete opposite.

    It is obvious since she has moved on that the government are lacking in such ministers with intellectual prowess and acuity who would solve the conundrum of IC design and fabrication plants.

    The UK is a small country, and the other entities involved (US, EU, China) have their act together already. The ship has already sailed.

    1. heyrick Silver badge

      Re: Autumn 2022 Report DCMS Minister is.....

      That somebody like Dorries was the DCMS minister says all you need to know about the government's attitude and competence with anything that has a plug attached.

      Given the calibre of the current Cabinet, I rather imagine the PM has a mate or some distant relation (in India?) fishing for a cushy contract at the taxpayer's expense.

      1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
        Gimp

        Re: Autumn 2022 Report DCMS Minister is.....

        "with anything that has a plug attached"

        One can only assume it's of the Butt variety.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Autumn 2022 Report DCMS Minister is.....

          "One can only assume it's of the Butt variety."

          Rumours the Minister was seen trying to stick it in her elbow remain unconfirmed.

  6. Big_Boomer Silver badge
    FAIL

    Pointless

    We had a chip manufacturing infrastructure but then we left the trading block where the fabs are located and now we have to trade on the open market for chips. Yet another "win" for the dumbfcukery that Brexit has been shown again and again to have been. <sigh>

    As for competence and politicians, they seem to be mutually exclusive under our current electoral methods. All we end up with is people who are good at getting themselves elected. They mostly have little else to offer the nation and seem to be very much out of their depth in most aspects of government, other than lining their pockets of course.

    1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

      Re: Pointless

      As far as I remember Taiwan is not in the EU, so I think Brexit is orthogonal to this issue.

    2. codejunky Silver badge

      Re: Pointless

      @Big_Boomer

      "We had a chip manufacturing infrastructure but then we left the trading block where the fabs are located and now we have to trade on the open market for chips. Yet another "win" for the dumbfcukery that Brexit has been shown again and again to have been."

      elsergiovolador has already knocked over your stupid comment of fab location and brexit. But as for the fabs the EU look to fund, why would we want to import dirty, low paid jobs here instead of the higher value jobs? And why would we want to pay to have said lower value jobs come here?

      "As for competence and politicians, they seem to be mutually exclusive under our current electoral methods. All we end up with is people who are good at getting themselves elected."

      While the EU presidents are elected away from the voters and are just as bad if not worse

      1. Roland6 Silver badge

        Re: Pointless

        >Brexit

        I note from the UK press that the Conservatives - the party that gave us “Brexit” but really wanted us to have an even harder “Brexit” has now effectively said Brexit was a big mistake and the main reason why the UK economy is currently doing so badly…

        > While the EU presidents are elected away from the voters and are just as bad if not worse

        Which given how quiet the elected politicians were on this matter over several decades, is exactly the way they wanted it to be…

        BTW don’t remember receiving any voting papers concerning the appointment of the UK PM….

        1. codejunky Silver badge

          Re: Pointless

          @Roland6

          "I note from the UK press that the Conservatives - the party that gave us “Brexit” but really wanted us to have an even harder “Brexit” has now effectively said Brexit was a big mistake and the main reason why the UK economy is currently doing so badly…"

          Cant say I have seen that but I dont particularly follow the conservatives. Harder brexit would probably been a good thing I would think but thats my opinion. Since it was a cross party issue with remain/leave split within the main parties I am not sure a 'Conservative press' would necessarily capture the views of both parts of the party but I might be wrong.

          "Which given how quiet the elected politicians were on this matter over several decades, is exactly the way they wanted it to be…"

          I dont understand this statement. We voted for MEP's but the design of the EU is technocratic and to separate the politician from the voter. Thats why we got to vote for MEP's and not the important workings.

          "BTW don’t remember receiving any voting papers concerning the appointment of the UK PM…."

          And yet you have more democratic say over our gov than the EU. If we are going back to this argument I will revive the question- If our gov is so bad then how does adding another layer of bad gov improve things?

          1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
            Facepalm

            Re: Pointless - Not Only But Also

            "the PM (Rishi Sunak at the time of writing)"

            BURN\Another leadership change in the offing? - Oh No Not Again!

            1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
              Facepalm

              Re: Pointless - Not Only But Also

              BURN\Another leadership change in the offing? - Oh No Not Again!

              The Boris fan club is plotting - and the man himself has landed a £1million donation from yet another expat-Brexiteer - prepare for Boris 2.0. May be The Telegraph will publish the article by Zahawi which got pulled minutes after it was published the last time round

              1. codejunky Silver badge

                Re: Pointless - Not Only But Also

                @Fruit and Nutcase

                "The Boris fan club is plotting - and the man himself has landed a £1million donation from yet another expat-Brexiteer - prepare for Boris 2.0."

                That is not something I want to read on a monday morning.

          2. Roland6 Silver badge

            Re: Pointless

            > but the design of the EU is technocratic and to separate the politician from the vote

            The design was decided by and agreed by the national governments, in the case of the uk, the Conservatives as led by Thatcher…

            Yes, we voted for MEPs but Westminster et al didn’t want them to have any real power anytime soon…

            > And yet you have more democratic say over our gov than the EU

            I’m not so sure given there was little democratic accountability for the lettuce - appointed by a selected few and then (thankfully) cast aside by the same few, who then stitched things up for the appointment of Rishi; who the pundits doubt the few will actually permit him to lead them into the next election…

            > If our gov is so bad then how does adding another layer of bad gov improve things?

            Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Catch is many, back in the 80s, thought (a future) EU et al would slap down the worst excesses of Westminster…

            As we are now seeing with the levelling up monies, Westminster is again making region aid political and a competition…

            As I’ve said before, the real problem is at Westminster not Brussels…

            1. codejunky Silver badge

              Re: Pointless

              @Roland6

              "The design was decided by and agreed by the national governments, in the case of the uk, the Conservatives as led by Thatcher…"

              Not sure why you bring Thatcher into it. She turned against the political project. She supported the common market.

              "Yes, we voted for MEPs but Westminster et al didn’t want them to have any real power anytime soon…"

              Et al being the EU? And while the gov may have their desires the UK voted leave so I can only guess the people had a different view than the politicians.

              "I’m not so sure given there was little democratic accountability for the lettuce - appointed by a selected few and then (thankfully) cast aside by the same few"

              The same few? I am not sure about that since she won a leadership election and then the party replaced her with their desired winner. And they are likely to be voted out of the gov in the next election it seems. More accountable than the EU then.

              "Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Catch is many, back in the 80s, thought (a future) EU et al would slap down the worst excesses of Westminster…"

              And living through the EU it seems not. As before the referendum and after and seemingly resurrected, the very important question I asked is still short of an answer.

              "As I’ve said before, the real problem is at Westminster not Brussels…"

              Or both. Which is why it is important to ask how another layer of bad government on top of our bad government improves anything.

              1. werdsmith Silver badge

                Re: Pointless

                I knew as soon as I saw a Brexit comment that codejunky would appear having the usual conniption.

                Codejunky needs to calm down a bit and realise that such efforts to defend the mess that our uneducated and ignorant subclass have dropped us into is just revealing more desperation.

                Face it. Calm down, take a deep breath and deal with it.

                1. codejunky Silver badge

                  Re: Pointless

                  @werdsmith

                  "Codejunky needs to calm down a bit and realise that such efforts to defend the mess that our uneducated and ignorant subclass have dropped us into is just revealing more desperation."

                  Really? So the comment crying brexit isnt the desperate ignorance but my repeating the same questions remainers have struggled with since the brexit vote is somehow the issue? Whatever helps you sleep at night.

        2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
          Childcatcher

          Re: BREXIT wrong

          IMHO, far too many people believed the lies spread by Nigel 'mines a pint' Farage especially BOJO.

          We fell for it hook line and sinking without trace.

          It was no surprise to me that Nigel 'how many times did I fail to get elected as an MP' Farage was besties with that other lying behemoth... Donald 'I won a golf competition that I didn't even take part in' Trump.

          We were suckered just like large parts of the US numbskulls were with 'The Election was Rigged' and MAGA.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Pointless

        How many members of the House of Lords are elected?

        1. BeefEater

          Re: Pointless

          Re: voting for the Lords.

          I think that is only the hereditary ones, there being a limited number of seats to be shared between the 100's (?) of possible candidates.

          It may be the case that there is a sub-set of the Bishops as well, but how they are chosen I don't know.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Pointless

            Ah, I see. Somebody other than the general public gets choose to which aristocrats take decisions on our laws. AFAIK the only other country that reserve places in its legislature for god-botherers is Iran. So that's all right then: plenty of democracy at work there. Add scarcasm to taste.

  7. Dr Fidget

    Boondoggle

    It'll be just another massive handout to a Tory part donor or one of the PM's chums. Later, it will turn out to be a massive failure/cock-up but, by then, Rishi won't be PM and we'll all be told to get over a minor bit of fiscal 'carelessness' by the Daily Mail etc.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Boondoggle

      Of course. The only strategy will be how to sell off the remaning chip companies to the highest bidder and how much cash can be diverted from that sale into the appropriate Tory pockets.

      1. pimppetgaeghsr

        Re: Boondoggle

        They better do it quick, those boomers running these companies want a retirement strategy as none of their big ideas have worked. Even Graphcore is going down the pan whilst their founders pocket millions.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Boondoggle

        What chip companies? Name on UK-owned chip manufacturer. For extra points, name one that Westminster could sell off to their chums.

    2. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
      IT Angle

      Re: Boondoggle

      You're forgetting that by the time it becomes a massive failure/cock-up, the tories will have been booted from power and replaced by labour...

      So the daily wails headline will lead something along the lines of

      "Labour cocks up Rishi's great plan" followed by 14 pages saying how badly labour sucks in comparsion to the glorious patriotic tory party that puts britains interests first

      Although lets face it... if the tory party came up with a policy of shooting everyone unemployed , the daily wail would be printing how wonderful this new policy is

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