UK General Election: What Do Industry Associations Think?
On Wednesday this week, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak announced that the country would have a general election on Thursday July 4th 2024.
In what will be the first time the country has gone to the polls to elect a new government – and potentially a new prime minister – since 2019, it’s a pivotal moment for Britain.
The election will of course have huge implications for the marketing and advertising industry, with the UK being a significant player in the global creative business.
We asked the associations for brands, agencies and production companies what their initial thoughts were as Britain prepares to elect a new government.
Lisa Hayley-Jones
Director of policy and government affairs at the Advertising Association
Now the election has been called, we look forward to the publication of the party manifestos.
Advertising is one of the UK’s domestic and international success stories and our growth helps power the rest of the economy.
To help us continue this success, we need the next government to prioritise policies which improve creative education and skills, investment in the creative industries across the nations and regions, and long-term economic security and growth. We also need regulatory certainty and continued support for the ASA and the broader self-regulatory system.
Whatever the outcome of the general election, we will continue our close engagement with the new government and Parliament, highlighting the strength and importance of our industry in driving responsible growth for the UK.
Steve Davies
Chief executive at the APA
It is impossible to separate out what we need as an industry from what we need as people and a society. At a minimum that is a government that is competent and has integrity.
Beyond that, a government with a vision to achieve growth is critical to both society and the advertising industry – we need people to get richer to be able to afford to buy things. Perhaps being part of some sort of international trading group of countries that are in the same part of the world as us would help toward that goal?
Beyond that, it is the Department of Culture, Media and Sport that we look to for support, for example in our efforts to market our members expertise worldwide and stability there would be particularly welcome. There has been a revolving door of ministers since the Conservatives returned to power in 2010 – 13 Ministers in 14 years! That doesn’t give them time to understand the sector and be able to plan and take effective action before they have moved on.
That is a shambles, bordering on self-sabotage and we need to move on to someone serious who does the job for at least the term of the parliament and commits everything they have to helping advertising and therefore the economy and voters.
Phil Smith
Director general at ISBA
The next Parliament will see MPs facing some of the biggest challenges which confront our society and economy. From keeping people safe online to improving public health, and from building a greener economy to effectively regulating and leading the world in artificial intelligence – these issues will have a huge impact on the advertising sector.
Whatever the outcome of the general election, our members need a decisive government which will work in partnership and collaboration with an industry which underpins Britain’s economic growth.
Richard Lindsay
Director of Legal & Public Affairs at the IPA
These are the key policy areas the IPA is looking for support on from an incoming government:
1. Support for our industry. It contributes to the UK's social and cultural life and it helps to fuel the economy. We need an incoming government, of whichever stripe, to champion it and help it to continue to thrive in order to help the UK.
2. Maintain self-regulation. The UK's ad industry is subject to a highly successful and internationally renowned self and co-regulatory system, overseen by the ASA. The system is nimble, able to act quickly and effectively, is easy and free to use, and funded by the industry, with no tax burden on the public. It works. If the industry is to continue to thrive, it needs to be allowed to innovate without legislative intervention, subject to compliance with the existing rules.
3. Home grown talent. Our industry depends on people. To continue to produce the best work, agencies need to be able to recruit the best homegrown talent. Our industry does much to promote careers in advertising to children and young people in the UK (for example, the IPA’s one-stop-shop and its Advertising Unlocked initiative) but agencies need young people in the UK to be better skilled, particularly in data and technology, so that they can contribute meaningfully to our industry. They need investment in education in creative subjects, creative thinking and in technology, both at school and in further education.
4. International talent. We would like to see an incoming government explore approaches that might level the playing field to ensure that the UK can attract and retain the best international talent and remain a dominant, international advertising force. This includes some of the process and cost challenges involved in recruiting talent from overseas.
5. Apprentices. The IPA supports the ambitions of the apprenticeship scheme. It promotes a multi-skilled, diverse workforce, helping young people into rewarding jobs through a less traditional route. But it needs improving. Businesses should have greater flexibility on how they use the levy, which is something we’d be keen to talk through with the relevant government ministers.
6. AI. The current government has taken an agile and iterative approach to AI regulation. The IPA agrees that a flexible, cautious approach to regulation is sensible, considering the fast pace of AI development and the need to allow for innovation and creativity. We would ask an incoming government to continue on this path, but to maintain international cooperation where possible, to facilitate consistency.
