Forgive tech bosses for thinking that Andy Burnham, Britain’s prime minister, is sending mixed messages(自相矛盾的信号). In one of his first speeches, he talked about making Britain the “world’s leading innovation nation”. Yet one of his earliest actions was to dismantle(拆除，解散) their front door to government(通往政府的大门), the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Rumours (since denied) have circulated of an exit tax(退出税，离境税) for startup founders who leave the country. His team seem reluctant to remove regulatory speed bumps(监管减速带) that slow the roll-out(推广，铺开) of British-designed driverless cars.
科技公司老板们认为英国首相安迪·伯纳姆发出的信号自相矛盾，这情有可原。在他最早的一批演讲中，他曾谈到要让英国成为“全球领先的创新国家”。然而，他最早采取的行动之一却是拆掉了他们通往政府的大门——科学、创新与技术部。有关对离境创业创始人征收“退出税”的传闻一度流传（后来被否认）。他的团队似乎也不愿清除那些拖慢英国设计无人驾驶汽车推广的监管“减速带”。
Perplexed executives can learn from Mr Burnham’s record before he became prime minister. His spell(一段任期) as mayor of Greater Manchester between 2017 and June 2026 makes his stance(立场，态度) on tech clearer. It also suggests it may not work as advertised(如宣传般奏效).
困惑的企业高管们可以从伯纳姆出任首相之前的履历中得到启发。他在2017年至2026年6月担任大曼彻斯特市长的经历，使他对科技的态度更加清晰。这也表明，这套做法可能并不像宣传的那样奏效。
Mr Burnham’s “Manchester model” rests on(建立在……之上) a simple idea: that inclusive growth(包容性增长), driven by innovation, is best achieved when business, academia and local government work together. Frontier technologies are great, provided they give local people good jobs. One of his signature(标志性的) projects is Atom Valley, a planned manufacturing and tech hub that would turn scientific discoveries, especially graphene, a form of carbon discovered in Manchester, into high-value jobs in the comparatively poor borough(自治市，行政区)s of Bury, Oldham and Rochdale. Another is Sister, the city centre’s latest regeneration(重建，复兴) project for a new £1.7bn ($2.3bn) innovation district.
伯纳姆的“曼彻斯特模式”建立在一个简单的理念之上：由创新驱动的包容性增长，只有在企业、学术界和地方政府通力合作时才能最好地实现。前沿技术固然很好，前提是它们能为当地人提供好工作。他的标志性项目之一是“原子谷”（Atom Valley），这是一个规划中的制造业与科技中心，旨在把科学发现——尤其是石墨烯，一种在曼彻斯特发现的碳形态——转化为伯里、奥尔德姆和罗奇代尔这些相对贫困的自治市的高价值就业岗位。另一个项目是“Sister”，这是市中心最新的重建项目，将打造一个耗资17亿英镑（23亿美元）的新创新区。