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Blair pushes e-commerce
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September 13, 1999: 11:33 a.m. ET
British PM says U.K. can be 'best place' for electronic trade by 2002
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LONDON (CNNfn) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged Britons Monday to seize the "spirit of adventure" that once made Britain "the workshop of the world" as they tackle the new challenges of the information age.
Appealing to national pride in a speech at Cambridge University, Blair repeated his goal to make Britain "the best place in the world to trade electronically by 2002." He suggested this can be achieved by limiting state intervention and regulation of cyberspace.
The appeal takes to heart a report issued by a new think tank -- the Performance and Innovation -- whose mandate is to study long-term issues and trends affecting Britain. The report contains 60 recommendations for British business to bring itself up to cyber-snuff, including the use of self-regulation of the Internet, better and faster coordination, and thinking "European".
"To succeed, we have to be quick on our feet," Blair said. "We have to embrace the Internet now, not in a few years time. Most of all, if we are to succeed, knowledge and how we use it need to be at the heart of all that we do."
Britain already has been a pacesetter in European e-commerce, giving the region its first free Internet access provider, Freeserve, which attracted more than 1.2 million subscribers in its first year.
At present, 13 million people in Britain, or about a quarter of the population, have access to the Internet. E-commerce revenue is expected to soar to 10 billion pounds next year, a threefold increase over last year, Blair said.
A recent poll indicated that 1.5 million Britons had shopped on the Internet in the four weeks to the end of June, up 44 percent from a similar poll conducted last December.
Blair's plea Monday was aimed at British entrepreneurs who may be sitting on the fence when it comes to exploiting the Internet.
"To British business, a blunt message," he said. "If you don't see the Internet as an opportunity, it will be a threat. In two years time the Internet could be as commonplace in the office as the telephone. If you're not exploiting the opportunities of e-commerce you could go bankrupt."
To help smooth the move to cyberspace, Blair said, the state should work to promote competition, minimize regulation and provide people with skills they need to use the medium.
He expressed confidence that such a policy can help turn Europe and Britain into "the world's most vibrant virtual market."
"Because there's no reason Europe can't rival America, no reason why Silicon Fen (a high-tech enclave in eastern England) can't beat Silicon Valley," he said. 
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