Look out Silicon Valley – the British are coming

Sure, Silicon Valley has a remarkable pedigree and history of producing world-beating technology companies, as well as an established technology presence, networking scene and excellent weather, but you know what us Brits have?  Words.
That is what Prime Minister David Cameron will slither on stage and deliver later today (Technically it won’t be him, it will be the small vole-like creature which controls Cameron’s body from within his skull, Men In Black-style).  His words will contain details of the encumbant Liberal-Conservative Franken-Government’s plans to turn an area in the east of London into a British Silicon Valley.  It’s not actually in a valley so they’ll have to re-think the name.  Silicon Flood-plain?  Silicon Cul-De-Sac?  Hopefully they’ll have all this ironed out soon.
The plan centres around an area called the Old Street Roundabout – already a pretty tech-friendly area having seen a remarkable 700% growth in the number of startups populating the area in the past three years.  It is also home to TechHub, the huge shared workspace catering to tech startups.
The plan will inject £200million ($3.2million) into the area in the form of funding for small businesses with a high potential for growth, as well as another £200 million for investment in “Technology and Innovation Centres”.  The government will also be introducing “Entrepreneur Visas” – special visas for people with “serious investment from a leading investor” to gain quick entry and working rights in the UK.
The Prime Minister also has a list as long as his arm of big tech companies who have signed up to take part by building new facilities or providing services.  The likes of Intel, Cisco, Google and Facebook will all be present in one form or another, and a couple of UK Universities are establishing a presence in the new developments.
The Government has obviously spotted this sector experiencing explosive growth and is keen to tap into its success to prop up the UK’s economy, which has – like everybody else’s – been through a bit of a rough patch.
How well non-tech industries will react to the news of nearly half a billion pounds heading away from them and into the arms of mainly foreign firms remains to be seen.  The UK Government recently announced sweeping cuts to the domestic budget, with nearly £7billion being axed from benefits meant to help the countries most needy – while simultaneously letting Vodafone off a £6billion tax bill, so to say the taxpayer isn’t enamoured with it’s elected officials right now is putting it lightly.