Andy Burnham is poised to scrap Palantir’s £330m NHS contract, a decision that would slash ties with the US tech giant two years into its seven-year deal. The prime minister-in-waiting did not grant Palantir a single contract during his nine years as Greater Manchester mayor, and an aide said he believed “unfettered tech boosterism” was turning off voters.
In his first keynote speech on Monday, Burnham said he wanted social value to play a larger part in government contracts. He is reviewing the Government’s overall artificial intelligence strategy, and his record on Palantir during his mayoralty – where the Greater Manchester Combined Authority issued no contracts to the company between 2017 and last month – is said to inform his thinking. Greater Manchester Police also confirmed it had not held a contract with Palantir in the past five years.
“Andy Burnham is set to scrap Palantir's £330m NHS deal, citing concerns over 'unfettered tech boosterism'.”
The Federated Data Platform, run using Palantir’s technology, has led to faster cancer diagnoses, increases in operating theatre use and fewer delays in discharging patients. But Labour MPs and unions have demanded the Government strip Palantir of its deal because of concerns about its work with the Israeli military and the US immigration authorities. Palantir was reportedly raised with Burnham and Labour activists by voters during the Makerfield by-election.
Stuart Andrew, the shadow health secretary, warned: “If Andy Burnham tears up a programme that is improving patient care, he will have to explain why he chose politics over patients. The NHS should use the best technology available to save lives, cut waiting lists and help staff deliver better care. Driving them away for political reasons risks undermining confidence in partnering with the NHS. Patients should never pay the price for Labour’s political posturing.”
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, added: “Most AI, including Palantir, is essentially an optimisation engine. It finds better solutions, faster. Does Andy Burnham think the NHS is so optimal it cannot be improved, or does he accept that kicking out Palantir will have a trade-off which is measured in more Brits dying?”
Burnham is expected to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as soon as July 20, after a landslide victory in Greater Manchester. In his devolution speech, he told Westminster it is “broken” – language once the preserve of Right-wing populists. His manifesto-by-proxy, The Productive State, calls for “major, even fundamental changes in British society” to end “the meanness and frustration of long years of stagnation and decline”. But whether he will be an agent of total change or a continuity figure remains an open question, as the country’s volatile mood consumes yet another would-be reformer.