Day Two of the Global App Economy Conference (GAEC) 2026 was a big day for Barndoor Strategy. We had spent several months arranging more than 50 meetings for delegations of members and Association of Competitive Technology (ACT) official to attend in Westminster, Whitehall, and beyond.

It was a huge logistical challenge but one that the Barndoor team rose to with aplomb. Members held some fascinating and useful discussions with Parliamentarians as wide ranging as Julia Lopez MP (Con, Hornchurch and Upminster & Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology), Victoria Collins MP (Lib Dem, Harpenden and Berkhamsted & Lib Dem Science, Innovation and Technology Spokesperson), and Daisy Cooper MP (Lib Dem, St Albans & Lib Dem Deputy Leader)

Other meetings included with Viscount Camrose (Con – former Minister for AI and Intellectual Property), Graham Leadbitter MP (SNP, Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey – SNP Science, Innovation and Technology spokesperson),Sir Jeremy Wright (Con, Kenilworth and Southam – Deputy Chair, Intelligence and Security Committee), Emily Darlington MP (Lab, Milton Keynes Central – DSIT Committee member), Dame Caroline Dinenage MP (Con, Gosport – Chair, PICTFOR), and Lord Clement-Jones (Lib Dem – Lords Spokesperson on Science Innovation and Technology).

Meetings also took place with officials from the Treasury, the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade, the Intellectual Property Office, and the Competition and Markets Authority.

It was an incredibly busy day for everyone and a gargantuan undertaking by the Barndoor team. But it was a great success which will have lasting benefits for ACT, its members, and the UK’s tech SME community more broadly, which is the main reason we are so proud of it.