From Manchester to Downing Street: What Burnham would mean for Palantir | Police News

London, United Kingdom – When Andy Burnham enters Downing Street as early as July 17, if he is confirmed as Labor leader, one of his first decisions will likely not be spending on defence, immigration or the economy.

It will also affect the seven-year 330-million-pound ($440m) contract between NHS England and Palantir Technologies, a leading security and intelligence company in the United States that has not received any contracts from Burnham’s Greater Manchester administration during his nine years as mayor.

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The consequences of such a decision could extend to the NHS.

Media reports emerged last week that Burnham wants to have Palantir across the UK government once he reaches Downing Street.

When contacted by Al Jazeera, spokesman Andy Burnham said: “We have no comment on procurement contracts with the government or companies and there are legal procedures to follow.

“However, more and more, Andy’s guiding principles on procurement are that we need to get value for money for the taxpayer and that we need to protect more of the people and interests of Britain.”

For a company that has spent six years involved in a number of government agencies – the NHS, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, the Financial Conduct Authority – this is a real change from the Labor administration led by Keir Starmer.

The Starmer government has taken an interest in the US AI industry led by the former UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson.

According to the Financial Times, which cited people briefed on the matter, Burnham’s advisers, including former technology minister Josh Simons, are working with researchers Antonio Weiss and Martha Dacombe on a new AI strategy to prioritize British companies and workers.

The story of how we got here goes through Manchester.

The beginning of Manchester

Burnham served as Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until June, when he returned to Westminster via the Makerfield’s recurring election.

Under his leadership, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority did not award contracts to Palantir. Greater Manchester Police confirmed separately that they had no Palantir contract in the past five years.

An instructive example, however, is in the NHS – Burnham’s organization has no direct mayors, but is politically created through the health system of Greater Manchester.

Instead of adopting the Federated Data Platform mandated by NHS England, built on Palantir’s Foundry software, Greater Manchester’s NHS leaders spent six years developing their own analytics instead. This became a proof of concept, which the partners are now citing nationally: proper data management of the NHS, they argue, does not require Palantir.

In May, Al Jazeera spoke to the Good Law Project about his concerns that Palantir is a “security threat”.

Some campaigners interpreted the recent political signings from Burnham’s camp as support for their position, although a spokesperson for the Good Law Project said they had not met directly with him or his group.

Political news

In her first speech since returning to Westminster as an MP, Burnham said she wanted social media to play a bigger role in government procurement decisions. The views, according to those close to him, are political and ethical.

Reports have expressed concern within his camp that the “inflexible technology” could sway voters who are already worried about the country’s increasing use of American software.

Underlying this concern is another concern: that a company designed to serve legal clients does not share the values ​​of an organization designed for patients.

“A defense company has a different set of values ​​than a health organization like the NHS,” said Duncan McCann, Technology and Data Lead at the Good Law Project, which has led to more transparency in contract litigation. “That’s where I think the concern was created.”

Palantir is not unique in this regard. Its origins in the US defense and intelligence services are shared, to varying degrees, by many of the US AI companies that are now supplying British government departments – a line that, for critics like McCann, undermines the whole group and not just one company.

What’s next?

The NHS union is in the spotlight, but it’s unlikely to be the only thing making the headlines this year.

A similar battle is already underway in London, where Palantir launched a High Court action after Mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a 50 million pound ($67m) Metropolitan Police contract, arguing that the decision amounts to a stifling of free speech.

Khan’s office also agreed to a partial plan – a minor change that did little to resolve the current impasse.

For campaigners who have for years called for a critical review of Palantir’s role in British public life, Burnham’s rise could be a turning point. The NHS retirement period falls in March 2027, but a decision must be made by December.

Burnham is expected in Downing Street later this month. They will soon decide whether Palantir has a future in healthcare in Britain – and, indeed, in the rest of the UK government.

Al Jazeera contacted Palantir for comment but did not receive a response by the time of going to press.