Carter’s plans worry me. Partly due to government regulation (however light) is top-down and laden with bureaucracy which – unless something radical is planned (and don’t hold your breath) – will have exactly the opposite effect the government wants.

What is really interesting is that Yale academic, Yochai Benkler. has written extensively about the new economic models emerging thanks to the Internet. These mdoels rely on social or non-market forces and in the foreword to Wealth of Networks Benkler actually observes “the State plays no role [in the new economy], or is perceived as playing a primarily negative role … Just like the market, the state will have to adjust to this new emerging modality of human action.” i.e. the state doesn’t work in an Internet-enabled economy.

Benkler suggetss we are on the cusp of a new era for economics and creative opportunity – *providing* key players (governments; regulators; gate-keeping corporations etc) get it right from the outset. Carter and Mandelson’s announcements fill me with dread.

Fair points. However, as recent events illustrate, and as is the case in America, the UK banking and finance industry was never sustainable with lax regulation.

So while there was a positive knock-on effect for all of us, the ‘wealth’ it created was partly an illusion which the government is now paying back through borrowing … or should I say, “taxing our futures.”

I also wonder how much wealth it created for places outside London. For example, I don’t know of any “PR and media companies that generate significant revenue in supporting financial services” outside of London.

Agreed on the China/India point. China actually turns out more graduates than America has people (or something like that) but in terms of media and technology we have more established and experienced businesses and people. The challenge is to stay ahead in knowledge, technology and innovation.

As mentioned, (and I could be naive here) as the world’s most multicultural city, London can claim to be home to people from every country around the world. No other city can boast this in an era of supposed globalisation.

So, what choices do we have:

Manufacturing – we can make things again. Nope, emerging countries do it cheaper.

Banking – we all know what happened there.

Digital – given my reasons above I think it’s a viable option.

Cheers!

The worst thing this could do is fuel another speculative boom, that could send everything tits-up as per dotcom bubble.

The so-called ‘knowledge economy’ worries me in particular, because I still can’t see how free content on the Internet can be sustainable for businesses — especially now advertising is taking such a hammering.

And this is especially worrying for mainstream and independent media.

Hmm, answers on a postcard to Steve Carter…

You point out that the UK is a wealthy nation. This is not least because of the contribution of the financial services industry, which has been the biggest contributor to the UK balance of payments for a good few years and one of the main contributors to UK GDP.

There’s also a positive economic knock-on effect from the financial services industry…for a start think of all the PR and media companies that generate significant revenue in supporting financial services and banks! These companies help drive the creative and digital industries.

You briefly mention education, though (rightly) rather tongue in cheek. This is the biggest risk for me. If you look at the world’s rapidly emerging economies – China and India particularly – and see the number of highly-educated and enthusiastic people they’re turning out of universities, and compare that to the UK, we’re going to have to work incredibly hard to keep pace if, indeed, we can.

Call me a cynic – and you generally can when there’s any Goverment initiative with the word ‘Britain’ in its title – but we were happy enough to ride the coat-tails of the lightly regulated banking industry until it all went tits-up…funny how now that’s happened Government is switching its attention somewhere else.

Does it not seem as though Carter and Brown are simply looking for another boom industry to milk until it collapses? If the government pumps millions into digital and loosely regulates it like the financial services sector (I use the term loosely loosely) then surely anyone involved in digital (including you and me) will become the new bankers, taking home £1million bonuses and holidaying in St Tropez?

Hold on, that doesn’t sound too bad really…