It's easy to see why both Brown and Cameron see technology as a core element of their respective economic narratives; if nothing else it's a chance to talk about the future rather than the past

Amid the current global gloom it's all too easy to remember just the depressing stories about sliding shares, the plunging pound and ever-increasing numbers of redundancies.

Less stress is placed on the building blocks of recovery and mapping a vision for better economic times.

And key to the UK's future competitiveness is technology.

Despite differences in emphasis, the main political parties are beginning to recognise the issue’s importance – with both Gordon Brown and David Cameron vying to set the digital agenda in the run up to the general election.

Britain’s digital infrastructure – specifically access to superfast broadband – is set to be a hot topic for 2009.

Broadband provision has particular resonance in politics – whether in business or in the home, with its implications for social justice as well as efficiency and innovation.

Combine that with the current wave of interest in the internet and politics – the web's seen as an obvious vehicle for engaging with voters in a bid to boost participation – and a new electoral battleground seems to be opening up.

In his first major speech of the New Year, David Cameron suggested that widespread provision of next generation broadband could “enable the next digital revolution”, creating the “potential to completely transform our economy”.

Fleshing out the details of the Conservative proposals, Jeremy Hunt MP, shadow secretary for culture, media and sport, echoed this sentiment, suggesting that high-speed broadband holds the key to unlocking the potential of Britain’s creative industries – whether in music, film, software design, advertising or architecture.

Unsurprisingly the Conservatives see a minimal role for the state in all of this, proposing private sector involvement as the most effective means of provision.

As Hunt stated, “the role of government is to facilitate and not deliver”.

Labour's rhetoric, on the other hand, puts some clear political distance between the two main parties.

Speaking last week to a gathering in Westminster, Lord Carter, Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting, hinted that the government would have a central role to play in raising the billions needed to develop fibre-optic infrastructure, particularly given the current economic pressures on the private sector.

His comments come in advance of the publication of the interim Digital Britain report at the end of January. The full report, to be published in late spring, aims to offer comprehensive insight into the country’s digital future.

Its centrepiece is expected to be a recommendation that access to broadband, albeit at the standard 2 Mbps (megabits per second) speed, should be available to all across the UK.

In the current political and economic context, Lord Carter’s comments will also be regarded with special significance – particularly in light of Gordon Brown’s plans for a New Deal, placing an emphasis on large scale infrastructure projects funded with public money.

As the Prime Minister stated in his New Year interview with The Observer: "When we talk about the roads and the bridges and the railways that were built in previous times - and those were anti-recession measures taken to help people through difficult times - you could [by comparison] talk about the digital infrastructure and that form of communications revolution at a period when we want to stimulate the economy. It's a very important thing.”

As such, the example of US President, Franklin D Roosevelt, during the 1930s depression is clearly not lost on the current occupant of Downing Street – Gordon Brown attempting to style himself as the “do something” leader, peripatetic in the face of economic crises.

In a very strong sense, therefore, the debate surrounding the provision of next generation broadband reflects the wider redrawing of the economic battle lines as the two main parties adjust to the realities of deepening economic woe.

Gone is the glimmer of bipartisan consensus, fleetingly offered to help stabilise the financial markets last autumn. In its place is a gradual return to more familiar economic conventions – the Conservatives proposing minimal state involvement and a regulatory environment sympathetic to the market, while the Labour government trumpets greater interventionism as the Prime Minister seeks to garner support for his fiscal stimulus package.

Despite the differences, it is easy to see why both Brown and Cameron are starting to see technology as a core element of their respective economic narratives.

Next generation broadband, as the name suggests, offers politicians that invaluable opportunity to talk about the future rather than the past. Moreover, given the cutting edge nature of the technology, it provides the chance to sketch a vision of British society that is both vibrant and dynamic – in many ways reminiscent of Harold Wilson’s “white heat of [scientific] revolution” speech in 1963.

As Lord Carter commented in his maiden speech to the House of Lords: “If Lord Reith was right […] in his assertion that the broadcasting system of the nation should be the mirror of that nation’s conscience, surely our ambition should be for the broadband system of the nation to be the engine of the nation’s mind”. Simply stated, the means we use as a society to interact and engage are integral to our sense of wider identity and the values and aspirations driving this.

What is clear, differences aside, is that high-speed broadband is beginning to receive the political attention necessary to make it a reality. Just as the canals and then railways formed the economic lifeblood of the Industrial Revolution so today's politicians are hoping that superfast broadband will propel Britain firmly into the digital age.

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