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09
Oct
Former government minister joins Harrogate AI startup
A former government minister has joined a Harrogate AI startup.
Steve Baker, the former Northern Ireland minister and Conservative MP for Wycombe, has joined Suffrago as a strategic adviser alongside his former senior adviser, Harry Richer.
The company, which is Harrogate-based, is a civic technology company which aims to help MPs, councils, journalists, businesses and the public make better-informed decisions by bringing together evidence and public opinion.
The firm said Mr Baker, who once referred to himself as the "hard man of Brexit", will bring experience from both Westminster and the technology industry, having worked in software engineering before entering Parliament.
Mr Baker said:
There’s never been more noise and less communication. MPs are drowning among clamouring voices. Unlike other platforms, Suffrago cuts through to the voices representatives need to hear on the issues which matter.
Mr Baker and Mr Richer will advise on strategy, particularly how Suffrago can make its technology useful to decision-makers and democratic institutions.
Andrew Gray, Harrogate resident and founder of Suffrago, said:
Steve has an unusual combination of experience in technology, Parliament and government. He understands both what software can achieve and how decisions actually get made.
We want to build something that helps Britain understand itself better, connecting what is happening with what people think and why. Steve and Harry can help us make that useful to the people making decisions.
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