LeWeb 2013: British Tech Industry ‘Needs UK To Stay In The EU’

As the government looks to slow immigration into Britain, and considers an exit from the European Union, the UK’s burgeoning technology industry has emphatically stated the UK needs to remain as open as possible.

Leaders of London’s Tech City start-up community have talked up the benefits of a multicultural Britain, urging people to fight against the “nationalistic”, eurosceptic rhetoric currently dominating political discourse in the UK.

At the LeWeb 2013 conference today Joanna Shields, formerly of Facebook but now running the Tech City Investment Organisation (TCIO), said London was such a vibrant community largely because it was so multicultural.

Technology industry ‘needs access to Europe’

“London has everything all in one geographic area – the urban diversity of New York… a TV and film industry, a receptive government,” she said, claiming London was the future city of the tech industry.

“It’s the most dynamic city in the world… It’s got a multicultural diversity, supporting people all over the world.”

Eric van der Kleij, who previously headed up the TCIO but now leads the Level39 fintech development hub, said the UK could not afford to leave the EU, as it allows the UK to take advantage of talent from across Europe, whilst keeping trade channels wide open.

A referendum on whether citizens want the UK to remain in the EU looks likely to take place in the coming years. Prime Minister David Cameron has already made it clear he wants to renegotiate Britain’s terms with the EU, as he remains concerned about immigration issues and how much money the UK loses thanks to its commitments to other member states.

Meanwhile, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has been gaining public support for its anti-EU stance.

Yet van der Kleij warned any move away from the EU could cause serious damage to the UK technology industry, which is only just starting to emerge as a serious place to do business.

“We cannot afford to extract from Europe… I’d like to see better collaboration across Europe,” he said.

“We have to be able to attract the fuel for our businesses.”

The immigration cap on migrants from non-EU countries has also concerned many hoping to attract talent from abroad. Home secretary Theresa May had set up a cap of 21,700 skilled work visas a year for migrants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

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