Tag Archives: Government

Social media: how the government is trying to regulate an industry that moves faster than itself

The Online Safety Act 2023 was hailed by the then Conservative government as a world-leading piece of legislation that would protect children and adults online. The act places new responsibilities on technology and social media platforms to protect users from harmful content, particularly children, and grants Ofcom extensive enforcement powers, including the ability to levy fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue for non-compliance. The legislation was designed to create a safer and more age-appropriate online environment without fundamentally restricting access to digital platforms.

Less than three years later, the Online Safety Act has proven to be already out of date, leading to new policies exploring an outright ban of social media sites for under 16s. The political debate has shifted from regulating content to regulating access itself.

Australia took the first leap, being the first major democracy to announce its own social media ban for under 16s in December 2025. Since then, the debate in Westminster has not dissipated. A UK-wide ban has been endorsed across the political spectrum, with proponents including over 60 Labour MPs, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

The government has so far taken incremental steps to more stringently regulate access to sites ahead of potentially endorsing an outright social media ban. A crackdown on phones in schools was pursued in 2024, and the 2025 Violence Against Women and Girls strategy included measures to prevent school-aged boys developing harmful misogynistic attitudes – which the government believes has largely been driven by online content. In early June 2026, the Prime Minister also announced a new requirement for tech companies to devise technological solutions that can detect and block children seeing or sharing indecent images. This announcement followed only a few weeks after safeguarding minister Jess Phillips resigned from government, criticising the Prime Minister’s inaction and delay on this very matter.

No piecemeal policy interventions have yet delivered enough protections for parents, teachers and policymakers to feel that young people are safe online. This has paved the way for a government consultation in early 2026 testing the waters on age restrictions for social media. The consultation, which the government is due to provide a full response to this summer, proposed removing or limiting addictive features such as ‘infinite scrolling’ and introducing a minimum age for social media access.

For social media companies, technology platforms, advertisers and organisations that rely on digital engagement with younger audiences, the policy implications are significant. Potential further restrictions on access, platform functionality or age verification requirements would have commercial, operational and regulatory consequences across the digital ecosystem. Businesses should also expect growing scrutiny of recommendation algorithms and engagement-driven design features, as well as the effectiveness of existing safeguarding measures.

This is a political argument that is leading down one path – and that is on the side of restrictions on children’s access to social media.

The government’s hesitancy to invoke such an interventionist ban is likely to come under growing pressure from politicians from across the political spectrum who are eager to introduce greater protections for children online, including through new age restrictions. The government cannot afford to weather another scandal in this area. The direction of travel appears clear, but the details remain up for debate. Organisations with a stake in the outcome should ensure their voice is part of the conversation, helping to shape a regulatory framework that is both effective and proportionate, and that properly reflects the practical, commercial and technical implications of impending policy change.

Keir Starmer’s Nightmare – a look ahead to the May 7 elections

The UK is facing unprecedented electoral times. For the first time in British history, a party other than Labour or the Conservative Party has led in the polls for over 12 months. A governing party has never fallen in the opinion polls as fast or as heavily as the current Labour government. Fewer than two in five people say they would vote for Labour or the Conservatives, which has never happened before. To help us make sense of these seismic changes, esteemed political scientist and elections expert Sir John Curtice joined GK Strategy and our guests to explain the fundamental shifts that have taken place in electoral behaviour in the UK, and to unpack what this means for the upcoming elections on May 7.

On May 7, millions of people across the United Kingdom will go to the polls to vote in this important set of elections. Around 5000 seats across 136 local councils in England, which includes all the London borough councils, are up for grabs. Outside of England, Scotland and Wales will have parliamentary elections which will determine what party will run the devolved governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff. These elections are the biggest set of elections between now and the next general election, and the results will inevitably have a significant impact on politics and the standings of the current party leaders.

Curtice explained that British electoral attitudes have become highly fragmented, with the underlying shift being visible in the breakdown of traditional voting predictors. Historically, working-class and younger voters tended to support Labour, while middle- and upper-class and older voters leaned Conservative. However, his analysis of the 2024 general election showed that these relationships have largely collapsed. In their place, voting behaviour is increasingly structured around social values: whether individuals are socially liberal, and view diversity as something to be promoted, or socially conservative, and favouring greater cultural homogeneity.

This shift first became apparent during the Brexit referendum. While there was a relatively even split between economically left- and right-wing voters on whether to remain in or leave the EU, social attitudes were far more polarised: social liberals overwhelmingly supported Remain, while social conservatives backed Leave. Curtice argued that Brexit crystallised this realignment in British politics, with social values now serving as the strongest predictor of voting behaviour.

Looking to the elections on May 7 and the fate of the two main parties, Curtice laid out a grim picture for them both. He warned that the pro-Brexit coalition which delivered Boris Johnson’s victory in 2019 has now fractured, leaving the Conservative vote split almost evenly between Leave and Remain supporters. For Labour, the picture that Curtice painted is arguably worse, with its 2024 coalition fragmenting across the Green Party, Reform UK, and the Liberal Democrats. Curtice argued that the driving factor behind this is that both the Green party and Reform UK have firmly chosen a side on the socially liberal–socially conservative divide, allowing them to reap the electoral rewards of modern Britain’s voting behaviour.

May 7 looks to be a dark night for Labour and the Conservative Party, with Curtice stating the night will either be “bad, very bad, or existential” for them both. Polling day could result in what Curtice described as “Keir Starmer’s Nightmare”: Labour coming third in Wales and Scotland, losing to Reform UK in working class councils, and the Green Party beating them in London. While he acknowledged the considerable uncertainty around the elections and their outcomes, Curtice argued that the two-party system is effectively dead. In its place, the first-past-the-post system that once enabled the Conservatives and Labour to dominate is now contributing to their decline. Sir John aptly captured it: “those who live by the sword can die by the sword.”

GK Strategy are experts in helping businesses and investors understand, navigate and influence the ever-changing political landscape. If you would like to talk about the impact of the local elections or the political landscape more generally, please contact scott@gkstrategy.com.

GK & Anchor Policy Spotlight: Emerging Regulatory Markets

The next decade and beyond will be defined by global challenges ranging from climate change and food security to geopolitical instability and competition for resources. Governments around the world will be forced to address these at pace, but many of the solutions will depend on technological advances and scientific discoveries that are only just emerging.

Curiosity has always been in GK’s DNA and over the last year we have dedicated considerable time to understanding and engaging with the emerging industrial sectors of the future. Ranging from technological developments in already highly regulated sectors to the sectors that are just emerging as future economic powerhouses, GK has put them under the microscope to unpick the political, policy and regulatory opportunities and challenges on the horizon.

This report is an introduction of that thinking to you. We know our investment community is keen to understand the risks and opportunities in these spaces to stay ahead of competitors in origination strategies, and most importantly, to invest for the future. With the decades of combined experience that informs our counsel, we pride ourselves on seeing the things that others don’t. Our team of consultants in the UK, Europe and the US is uniquely positioned to give a truly global perspective on understanding and growing the future sectors of the global economy.

The Warm Homes Plan and the government’s green agenda

GK’s Hugo Tuckett examines the government’s publication of its Warm Homes Plan and what it means for the government’s green agenda

January 2026 saw the publication of the government’s long-awaited Warm Homes Plan. The plan, which is backed by £15 billion of funding and was originally due for publication in 2025, represents the sum of the measures that the government believes will deliver on its commitment to lower household energy bills by £300 over the course of this parliament (2024-29). It is also one of the government’s most entrenched policies, dating back to Labour’s time in opposition when Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced in 2021 that a future Labour government would deliver billions of pounds worth of new funding to support upgrades to the UK’s green infrastructure.

The Warm Homes Plan seeks to deliver a significant expansion of solar panels and heat pumps, marking a departure from previous efforts to improve the insulation of homes. Despite its original billing to improve households’ energy efficiency, the final publication of the plan sets out the energy secretary Ed Miliband’s ambition to deliver a ‘rooftop revolution’ and includes a range of measures designed to support a much greater uptake of solar panels. This has led to some concern amongst charity and industry groups who have warned that shifting to clean heat and electricity generation (including heat pumps and solar panels) before dealing with the scale of draughty homes is only going to lead to an increase in bills in the short term. It does though demonstrate the government’s shift in approach from seeking to reduce household energy consumption to increasing energy generation from renewable sources.

Ministers are eager for households to adopt a range of green measures to substantially lower bills and, in some cases, deliver ‘zero-bill’ households. The government’s thesis is that investing in the roll out of new technologies now, including heat pumps, will drive down costs further in the medium-to-long term. It also becomes much cheaper and more efficient to use a heat pump when combined with battery storage systems and solar panels. Critics will say that the government should be thinking much more radically about how it plans to rebalance the levies on energy, so that it can bring down the cost of electricity for all if it really wants to see people make the shift from gas to electricity. Aside from the government reiterating its decision to remove £150 worth of levies from energy bills through the abolition of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), this plan does not tackle that more intractable problem.

The funding included in the plan is predominantly aimed at low-income households, but there is some financial support available to all homes. The plan will administer £4.4 billion in grants to low income households and social landlords. This will include fully funded upgrade schemes, including solar and heat pumps, depending on the assessment of the building. It will also establish a £5.3 billion Warm Homes Fund which will be available to all households. This includes £2 billion in low-and-no-interest consumer loans and £2.7 billion for innovative finance products in the home upgrade system. The government aims to upgrade five million homes by 2030 and lift one million homes out of fuel poverty through the plan, which will be overseen by a new government body, the Warm Homes Agency.

The publication of the plan is a significant moment for the government and for energy secretary Ed Miliband. Despite previous climbdowns on the amount of funding that would be made available to support the government’s green agenda, Miliband has deftly navigated both HM Treasury and the Cabinet to retain a sizeable portion of funding to deliver on his ambitions in the sector when other departments are experiencing real-terms cuts. As the 2029 general election approaches, there will be real pressure on the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to deliver on the ambitions of the plan, which sits in an area of public policy where the government will be hoping to draw a clear dividing line with Reform UK. The government has spent a lot of its first 18 months in power talking up its efforts to boost the UK’s green credentials and lower household energy bills – now it’s all about delivery.

GK Look Ahead: Health and Social Care Policy

GK Strategy is pleased to share its ‘Look Ahead’ report which sets out some of the key health policy and regulatory trends to watch out for in 2026.

The report includes insights from GK Strategic Adviser Steve Brine on the government’s policy plans for health sub-sectors, such as dentistry and community pharmacy. Steve is a former Health Minister and was Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee.

The report can be accessed here: https://gkstrategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GK-Look-Ahead-Health-and-Social-Care-Policy-January-2026.pdf