'I have only been in the job for four weeks - I'm still reading up on this," shadow trade and industry secretary John Whittingdale told a Conservative conference fringe meeting in Blackpool this week; a touch disingenuously, it transpired.
Whittingdale already knows his way around IT. In the Whips' office, he introduced a pager system for Tory MPs - he claims these are used for information, unlike Labour's. When shadowing the Treasury, he dealt with computer contractors lobbying against IR35, a change to the tax system that increased their tax bill. The Conservatives will continue to oppose the change, he confirmed.
And he sounds like an enthusiast: "I think this is a fascinating area," he said, having run the Parliamentary IT Committee fringe meeting through his thoughts on broadband (fewer competitors might produce better results), third-generation mobile licences (a Labour "bonanza") and the planned communications regulator Ofcom (it must be light and flexible).
As one would expect from a Tory, Whittingdale wants more competition and less government intervention. "There have been a host of examples where government has said, 'This is the break-through', and almost always, it gets it wrong," he said.
Rather refreshingly, he illustrated this by mentioning how a Conservative government insisted that broadcaster BSB used the Squarial, a superior but pricey satellite receiver, in trying to compete with rival Sky (which, as it was broadcast to satellite from Luxembourg, could use cheaper technology). The unpopular Squarial dragged BSB down, and Sky eventually bought the firm out.
"My principle is to try to have a system of minimum regulation and maximum flexibility. Government in this area, as in virtually every other area, has done the exact opposite," Whittingdale summarised, although, in reality, New Labour is hardly the most interventionist of governments.
Given the government's majority, the Conservative role will be to examine and tweak legislation, rather than stop it. Whittingdale said this would apply to any government attempt to tighten controls on encryption, which must not damage "the law-abiding, huge majority who rely on technology". In this, the shadow trade secretary echoed LibDem policy, as well as Charles Kennedy's words on the fight against terrorism: "We won't give them a blank cheque," Whittingdale said.
Labour's conference last week had fewer IT companies this year than last; the Tories had very few companies of any kind. Instead, meetings and stands were occupied by campaign groups. Age Concern used its fringe meeting to highlight its work in encouraging silver surfers. There are already 4.6m computer users who are over 50: as the party with the oldest members, this is a trend the Tories could tap.
Tim Boswell, a shadow minister for work and pensions, competed with Age Concern's director-general Gordon Lishman for eldest known surfer. Lishman mentioned a disabled 80-year-old who spends his nights networking with Californians. But Boswell trumped him. "A lady in my own village is 90 in November, and she has just gone on the web," he said.
Boswell tried to link IT and Conservative values: "We believe in empowering people and emphasising their strengths, on their own and in free association with others." He has a point. Since it escaped the universities, IT has been developed largely by individualistic entrepreneurs. But then several key figures have had goals apart from share-growth - the web's father Tim Berners-Lee or Linux creator Linus Torvalds, allowed their work to be used for free.
Boswell then offered extravagant praise to Age Concern's sponsor, Microsoft. IT users tend to hate the giant company or accept it grudgingly. Maybe one needs to be a Conservative to love it.
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