# George Osborne says datacentre nimbys holding back Britain > Source: > Published: 2026-09-22 11:46:01+00:00 # George Osborne says datacentre nimbys holding back Britain By Helena HortonSource: [The Guardian Technology](https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology) Former chancellor, now senior figure at [OpenAI](https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/openai), says UK needs datacentres to maintain ‘sovereignty’ over AI tech Datacentre nimbys are holding Britain back, George Osborne has said in reaction to nationwide protests about the giant water-and-energy guzzling structures. The Tory former chancellor is now the head of AI for countries at OpenAI, an [artificial intelligence](https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/artificial-intelligence) company and the developer of [ChatGPT](https://www.machinebrief.com/compare/chatgpt-vs-claude). His job is to represent the company to governments around the world, and he also has a role in enabling the building of datacentres and other infrastructure. [Continue reading...](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/22/george-osborne-ai-datacentre-nimbys-holding-back-britain) Get AI news in your inbox Daily digest of what matters in AI.