UK Tech Sector Monthly Monitor – August 2026 update

In this Growth Commission paper in May 2026, Growth Commissioner Douglas McWilliams set out the critical contribution to the economy of the UK’s tech sector. Following the publication today of the UK GDP figures for the three months to June 2026, he observes:

“The output data shows that the UK’s tech sector continues to drive growth in the UK economy. On a narrow definition of the sector (just including programming, IT consultancy and sale of information services) the sector grew by 7.9% in real terms between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026 and accounted for 25.8% of all the UK’s GDP growth over the period.

“On a wider definition of the tech sector which includes the main tech-using sectors, growth in turnover was 6.9% in value terms between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026.

“One of the key factors driving growth in the UK’s tech sector is that it is not subject to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, its Digital Services Act or its AI Act because of Brexit freedoms. The EU’s digital sector is hardly growing and on some data is actually declining, partly because of the stand-off between the European Commission and the US-based tech majors.

“For the UK’s tech sector to continue to drive economic growth in the UK economy, it is critical that whatever EU Reset deal is made keeps the UK tech sector outside the orbit of EU regulation.”