83. Geospatial lights up pre-election politics in the UK

Next month Britain votes in a general election which will decide the nation's future at a very uncertain time. What is certain however is that today, Britain's political leaders seem to very much understand the value of the digital economy in serving the nation's 'spatial' well-being. As just one brief example, a recent election manifesto document by the UK's Conservative Party indicates that the geospatial industry and associated government bodies are tipped to play very dynamic roles if their party is re-elected.

Being Conservative clearly no-longer means being conservative.

"...we will use digital technology to release massive value from our land that currently is simply not realised, introducing greater specialisation in the property development industry and far greater transparency for buyers.

To make this happen, we will combine the relevant parts of HM Land Registry, Ordnance Survey, the Valuation Office Agency, the Hydrographic Office and Geological Survey to create a comprehensive geospatial data body within government, the largest repository of open land data in the world.

This new body will set the standards to digitise the planning process and help create the most comprehensive digital map of Britain to date. In doing so, it will support a vibrant and innovative digital economy, ranging from innovative tools to help people and developers build to virtual mapping of Britain for use in video games and virtual reality"

Conservative-thinking Conservatives are presumably planning to scale this policy back if the party is successful next month.