9 June 2017

What we know, what we don’t – our initial response to the election result.

If the aim of calling a June election was to stabilise government, shore up support and clarify direction, it is obvious today that it has had the opposite effect. No single party has the seats to form a majority government. No single party has a mandate to bring its manifesto to fruition.

We will not even begin to speculate on what will happen next, in terms of the shape the next Government might take and how stable or turbulent UK politics might be in the months and years ahead.

However, there are three things we can predict with certainty.

Our campaigns

Today’s result will not change our own campaign direction. We will continue to lobby for authors on the issues we put forward in our own pre-election manifesto – for fairer contract terms, a stable and clear copyright framework, a commitment to creators and the creative industries, a tax and benefits regime that work for freelancers, access to funding, libraries, reading for pleasure and the cultural environment, and freedom of expression.

Brexit

While the future of the negotiating process for leaving the EU will inevitably be flavoured by yesterday’s vote, it is impossible to say whether this will result in a harder or softer Brexit, and what that might mean for authors. What is certain is that we and others in the creative industries must monitor the process, and speak out to make sure the impact on creators is understood.

The new government and the SoA

Whatever the shape and flavour of the new Government, we’ll do what we have always done – nurture relationships with ministers, peers and civil servants, advocate for authors’ interests, and continue to hold the Government to account.