A new report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change warns that the UK risks falling behind in the global AI race unless it dramatically scales up its domestic AI infrastructure. Titled “Sovereignty, Security, Scale: A UK Strategy for AI Infrastructure,” the July 2025 report outlines a detailed roadmap for the UK to avoid becoming overly reliant on foreign compute resources.
According to the authors, the UK currently holds just 3% of global computing power, with most of it ill-suited for advanced AI applications. While global tech leaders like the U.S., China, and Gulf nations invest billions into high-performance data centers, the UK lacks sufficient energy, land, and regulatory conditions to attract similar investments. The report states bluntly that the UK is at risk of becoming “the largest AI ecosystem in the world without its own AI infrastructure.”
The think tank argues that Britain should not try to compete in training frontier AI models—an effort already dominated by better-resourced countries—but instead focus on large-scale AI deployment across key sectors like health, education, defense, and science. This approach, called “accelerated diversification,” would prioritize building enough infrastructure to support national resilience, innovation, and economic productivity.
To reach its target of 6GW of AI-ready compute by 2030, the report urges immediate reforms in planning laws, energy grid modernization, and more aggressive central coordination. Recent government moves, including the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Compute Roadmap, are seen as steps in the right direction, but not nearly sufficient.
Among its key recommendations, the report calls for the creation of an AI Infrastructure Delivery Group reporting directly to the Prime Minister, a revamp of the planning system to fast-track data center development, and the establishment of AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) designed to unlock co-investment and experimental deployment.
Conclusion
The authors also emphasize the need to align the UK’s energy strategy with AI demands, including allowing data centers to co-locate with energy generation assets and supporting advanced nuclear projects. Without action, the UK could lose both economic opportunities and its ability to shape global AI governance norms.
“This is a now-or-never moment,” the report concludes. “Without bold intervention, the UK will cede control of its AI future to others and miss the opportunity to lead in safe, sovereign, and competitive AI deployment.”
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