Just managed to read the UK Conservative Party Tech Manifesto, A pre-election manifesto is a pre -election manifest granted, but there are some points that will make tech SMEs take note.

Stating that present government spending is “bloated” and restricted to a few major providers, the Tories seem to want to open opportunities to smaller companies. They claim that under Labor just nine IT companies received 60% of public sector IT spending.

This number may be a reflection of proportional spend on large infrastructure projects such as the current NHS work, but in general an approach which was more inclusive of SMEs would certainly be welcomed. Innovation in the technology field can very often come from this type of company, who being nimbler and hungrier, are often a breeding ground for new technologies and approaches.

The Tech Manifesto states that if they win the UK election, the Conservatives will make it harder to award public sector contracts of a value of more than £100m and place a moratorium on current IT procurement. The plan is also to publish online all IT tender documents and IT procurement contracts "to enable the public to root out wasteful spending and to help more small businesses bid for government contracts".

Having more transparency in the speccing and procurement process for public sector contracts would result in more public accountability. Something that everyone would agree is a good thing. However, the challenge for any new government will be how to quickly get to grips with the complexity of public sector projects and to ensure that public monies already invested in projects currently their early development stages, is not wasted for the sake of a new broom.