Chi Onwurah is the Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, first elected in 2010. With a background in electrical engineering and telecoms, she has held several key shadow ministerial roles focusing on science, research, and digital policy. She is a chartered engineer and has a wealth of experience across the public and private sectors, including her last role before entering parliament as the Head of Telecoms Technology for Ofcom. Onwurah has consistently championed diversity in the fields of engineering and ICT and currently serves as the Chair of the Science, Innovation, and Technology Select Committee. 

James Naish is the Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, the first Labour MP to represent the constituency since 1966. Prior to his election, he was the Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, where he secured significant investment, including the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) prototype fusion energy plant. His professional background is in the energy sector, having worked as a Programme Manager for Northern Powergrid and SSE plc, and as a consultant at Accenture. He is a graduate of Mansfield College, Oxford, and a member of the International Development Committee. 

Sarah Edwards is the Member of Parliament for Tamworth, having won the constituency in a by-election in 2023. She has dedicated her career to advocating for working people, having previously worked as a union organiser in the West Midlands for Unite the Union. She also served as a governor for the National Health Service and led a campaign to protect cancer services in Staffordshire. Her experience on the frontline of industrial relations provides a valuable perspective on the impact of economic change and technological shifts on the UK workforce. 

Dr Laura Gilbert CBE is the Senior Director of AI at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. She was previously the founding Director of 10DS, the data science and analytics team at 10 Downing Street, and also founded the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI). A particle physicist by training with a doctorate from the University of Oxford, she has worked in defence intelligence and quantitative finance. She was also the CTO of a medical technologies company, bringing it from a start-up to acquisition. In 2023, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to technology and analysis. 

Moderator : Amanda Brock, OpenUK CEO 

Amanda Brock is the CEO of OpenUK, the UK’s advocacy organisation for open technology, which includes open source software, open hardware, and open data. A lawyer with 25 years of experience, she is a recognised authority in open source law and policy. She is an appointed member of the UK Cabinet Office Open Standards Board and the editor of the second edition of Open Source Law, Policy and Practice, published by Oxford University Press. Her work focuses on

shaping the UK's position as a global leader in open technology and fostering a resilient digital economy.