British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently proposed an ambitious plan to significantly improve government work efficiency through digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. In his upcoming speech on Thursday, he will elaborate on the concept, emphasizing that civil servants’ time should be given priority to work that requires human judgment and creativity, and that tasks that can be done with the same standards through digitization and AI are handed over to technology. This move not only hopes to improve the quality of government services, but also saves a lot of money in the UK.
Starmer expects that by adopting a more broad digital approach, the UK government can save more than £45 billion in spending in the future. To achieve this, he plans to recruit 2,000 new technical apprentices to enrich the civil service and promote technological transformation. He said that these measures can not only improve government efficiency, but also better meet the needs of the people and make national services more modern and efficient.
However, the proposal sparked a strong reaction from some unions. Dave Penman, Secretary General of the Senior Civil Service Union (FDA), pointed out that while digital transformation is necessary, the government must clarify how to provide more services with reduced resources. He mentioned that civil servants have been often portrayed as inefficient workers over the past few years, which has had a serious impact on morale. Pengman called on the government to pay more attention to the feelings and actual needs of employees when advancing reforms.
Union leaders generally say they welcome the use of technology but are concerned that this could lead to the loss of some civil servant positions. Prospect Secretary-General Mike Clancy stressed that reforms should be carried out in cooperation with employees and unions, rather than being driven by accusations or incitement. He called on the government to target reforms to strengthen the role of civil servants rather than weaken their status.
In addition to promoting digital transformation, Starmer's speech also mentioned that it would reduce regulation and reduce the number of some NGOs. He believes that although the current government is huge in scale, its efficiency is declining, so it is necessary to accelerate the pace of reform to better serve the people. He expects that through digital government services, considerable savings and productivity improvements can be achieved, thereby injecting new vitality into the UK economy.
It is worth mentioning that Starmer's plan is in sharp contrast with the measures taken by former US President Trump. Trump has tried to cut civil servants on a large scale, and Starmer's team stressed that they do not intend to cut government size in extreme ways, but to improve efficiency through technical means and optimize processes. This modest reform approach may bring more sustainable development to the British government.
Overall, Starmer's digital reform plan aims to improve government efficiency through technical means while saving the UK huge expenses. However, this plan also faces doubts and challenges from trade unions. How to balance efficiency with employee rights in reform will become a key issue that the government needs to solve.