The world wide web went live, on my physical desktop in Geneva, Switzerland, in December 1990.

That’s Tim Berners-Lee, and after that succinct explanation of why he knows a thing or two about the web he goes on in a piece for Scientific American to to talk about the importance of net neutrality – a topic on which there have been mixed signals coming out of the Conservative Party at times:

Net neutrality maintains that if I have paid for an Internet connection at a certain quality, say, 300 Mbps, and you have paid for that quality, then our communications should take place at that quality. Protecting this concept would prevent a big ISP from sending you video from a media company it may own at 300 Mbps but sending video from a competing media company at a slower rate. That amounts to commercial discrimination. Other complications could arise. What if your ISP made it easier for you to connect to a particular online shoe store and harder to reach others? That would be powerful control. What if the ISP made it difficult for you to go to Web sites about certain political parties, or religions, or sites about evolution?

Unfortunately, in August, Google and Verizon for some reason suggested that net neutrality should not apply to mobile phone–based connections. Many people in rural areas from Utah to Uganda have access to the Internet only via mobile phones; exempting wireless from net neutrality would leave these users open to discrimination of service. It is also bizarre to imagine that my fundamental right to access the information source of my choice should apply when I am on my WiFi-connected computer at home but not when I use my cell phone.

A neutral communications medium is the basis of a fair, competitive market economy, of democracy, and of science. Debate has risen again in the past year about whether government legislation is needed to protect net neutrality. It is. Although the Internet and Web generally thrive on lack of regulation, some basic values have to be legally preserved.

The full piece ranges over several other topics too and is well worth a read.

Hat-tip: Mary Reid

Research conducted by Mandate Communications’ public affairs unit – Political Mandate – has revealed ambitious Conservative Party plans to introduce a raft of new Tory Peers to the House of Lords in 2010.

Political Mandate spoke with over 50 senior Conservative advisers, MPs and political commentators at this year’s Conservative Party Conference.

Mandate’s research shows that the Conservative leadership is poised to elevate a number of figures from the arts, business, charities and popular media to the House of Lords, in an attempt to boost Conservative populist credentials.

Political Mandate Managing Director Fiona Mason commented:

“As they prepare for a difficult first year in power, the Conservatives are planning to use Lords’ appointments to sprinkle some star dust on their front bench. David Cameron is keen to bring to the fore a range of policy and technical experts who have stronger knowledge of the wider world than many of his MPs.

“Through a number of discussions with senior Conservatives Mandate has a clear view of the Tory leadership’s plans to create a large number of new Peers at the start of a new Conservative Government.

“The exact figures of people to be elevated will depend on agreement with the Labour Party about the number of Labour Peers that will also be created at the same time. But David Cameron wants at least 20 high profile new Tory Peers to boost his new government. “Some of the new Tory peers are poised to take on Ministerial posts, others will be even more influential sitting at the back of the “Red Benches”.

“My advice to anyone in public affairs needs is to think about your relationship with these new figures. With a possibility of a hung Parliament still strong, the influence and role of the House of Lords after the election will be more significant than ever.”

Mandate’s research identified advanced discussions regarding the elevation of:

1. Sir Peter Gershon – Government efficiency expert. Being considered for a Ministerial role making some of the toughest spending-cuts decisions facing an incoming Conservative administration.
2. Stuart Rose – Marks & Spencer Chairman whom the Tories plan to recognise for both his business acumen and his profile amongst the corporate responsibility community thanks to Marks & Spencer’s “Plan A”.
3. Jonathon Porritt – friend of the Prince of Wales and environmental campaigner. Being considered for post Copenhagen summit roving “Green Envoy” role.
4. Michael Spencer – critical lynchpin of Conservative election planning, leading party “ambassador” to the City and responsible for restoring Conservative financial health in his role as Party Treasurer. Cameron wants to keep those relationships friendly in the first few tough years of a new Government.
5. DeAnne Julius – Chair of Chatham House and former member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, will add significant gravitas – and gender balance – to the Conservatives in the House of Lords.
6. Angela Knight – former Conservative MP and current head of the British Bankers’ Association. Her appointment will send a signal to the banking sector that the Conservatives plan to work with banks to encourage recovery and seek to avoid demonising them. But it also shows that the Conservatives want a banking “insider” to help sell their vision for the new regulatory regime.
7. Ann Widdecombe – a reward for years of service in the Commons and also a symbol to the right wing of the Conservative Party that David Cameron has not forgotten that they helped his rise to the leadership.
8. Sir Howard Bernstein – Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, host to this year’s Conservative Party Conference.
9. Sir Richard Dannatt – former Chief of the Defence Staff. Respected for his independence; David Cameron hopes to rebuild bridges between government and the military brass that have strained under Labour.
10. Sir John Tusa – not a natural Tory, but as the leader of the Conservative Taskforce on the Arts in 2007, Tusa is an ambassador between the Conservative Party and the naturally left-leaning arts establishment.
11. Bill Emmott – former editor of the Economist and commentator on the growth of Chinese economic and political power. Being considered to advise the Conservative frontbench foreign policy team.
12. Sir Alan Haselhurst – recognition that there is a continued role for this respected Conservative Parliamentarian who had, until just a few months ago, been considered the favourite to become Speaker of the House of Commons.
13. Sir John Major – previously refused a peerage when offered. Now being convinced to take the position to give “elder statesman” support to a young new Prime Minister.
14. Harpal Kumar – whilst the Cancer Research UK CEO will be at pains to retain his independence, the Conservatives are keen to make a strong gesture to the campaigning community by elevating this leading charity sector figure.
15. Jill Kirby – Director of the Centre for Policy Studies and responsible for advancing Conservative thinking across a range of policy areas.
16. Robin Wight – Advertising industry legend (and President of Mandate’s parent communications group, Engine). A former Conservative Parliamentary candidate. Mooted as a link to the creative industries and symbol that the new Conservative Party is not afraid to include a man whose wardrobe includes purple and pink Oswald Boateng suits.
17. Sir Simon Milton – central figure of the new Conservative local government establishment.
18. David Ross – co-founder of the Carphone Warehouse and another senior business figure who has been close to the Conservative leadership.
19. Tim Berners-Lee – the man behind the World Wide Web contributed to Labour’s Digital Britain, but the Conservatives want his credibility behind their policies to implement the next stage in the country’s digital development.
20. Kirsty Allsopp – presenter of Location, Location, Location, famed for her pashminas, Allsopp has already been advising the Conservatives on housing matters. The daughter of a Peer, the Lords should hold no fear for the famous property developer, and her elevation would add a populist touch to proceedings.

However, the news that the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, is to become a government advisor on ‘public information delivery’ looks set to be one of the better ones. A successful veteran of working successfully with bureaucracy – and a multinational one at that – from his time at CERN, he is likely to bring to the role a better understanding than most of how to bring about change in government.

Moreover, he has some clear and strongly held beliefs to help steer him, keeping him away from those twin traps of drowning in detail or becoming a native of the system.

There are therefore good reasons to believe that his appointment will turn out to be a success, and if it is we will see this in more government data being made available cheaply, or for free, in useful formats and with minimal restrictions on its subsequent reuse.

Across the breadth of its operations, the state holds so much data that it is hard to imagine the full impact of a freeing up of its data. So take just one, very simple example. The Met Office has huge volumes of historic data on the weather patterns around the country – data which could be put to many users if it was freely and easily available. Imagine property sites that told you the typical weather for a property. Holiday information sites that let you know what the weather is likely to be like on your chosen dates. Educational sites that challenge people to forecast weather better than the experts. Clothing sites that fit their promotions to your location and the current weather. And a host of opportunities none of us have thought of as yet.

For that’s been the repeated experience of data being made more available: it feeds all sorts of innovations and creations. During that phase there is also often a commercial cost to those that move slowest, for either they get overtaken by other people’s innovation or they end up paying heavily for data or services that others are now sourcing for free.

So as Tim Berners-Lee tries to work his influence on government data, commercial operations should keep a close eye on the new business opportunities coming their way, the ability to use free data to supplement their services and the opportunity to cut costs.

Cross-posted from the Mandate blog