Would Manchesterism Travel Past The M60? – What An Andy Burnham Government May Mean For The Creative Industries

The landscape of politics in this country is as unpredictable as it’s ever been, with growing doubts around the current PM’s longevity, questions are beginning to emerge about who could replace him.

One of the current frontrunners within Labour to replace the current PM is Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Of course, there are several obstacles in the way for Burnham before potential leadership, namely, winning the Makerfield by-election and being selected as the leader of the country.

That said, it’s the job of a good lawyer to try and predict the future to a certain extent, so here’s our take on what his government may mean for the creative industries based on his track record in Manchester.

What’s Andy Burnham Actually Done for the Sector? 

For starters, his track record is consistently pro-creative sector and pro-culture, viewing it as a central component of economic infrastructure and a core growth sector alongside digital, AI, and life sciences. That’s no real surprise given that Manchester is the largest creative cluster outside London although that’s not down to the efforts of any one individual; we’ve been punching way above our weight for years before devolution.

That said, Burnham’s been a genuine champion for the sector who’s backed up rhetoric with actual funding commitments such as the £10.5m Screen Production Fund – an initiative not just to bring production into the region but also build a local supply chain to support them alongside training to ensure its development. 

From a wider perspective, the mayor has consistently promoted the City Region’s culture, nightlife and visitor economy as a central pillar of its prosperity as well as a key part of its identity.

It’d be easy to come up with a much longer list of individual proof points, but this isn’t intended to be a press release or campaign material. What we can say from inside the M60 is that Andy Burnham’s impact on the Creative Industries has been wholly viewed as positive.

What Might This Look Like on A National Level?  

Extrapolating (carefully) from Manchester to Westminster, likely positives of a Burnham Premiership could include a continuation of stronger regional creative policy with a continuing focus on devolution, development of creative clusters and more funding to support them. His previous comments around the need for more “active state” economic policy could lead to more skills funding and subsidised infrastructure alongside a continued commitment to skills reform aligned to growth sectors, and given the Creative Industries’ unique challenges in dealing with talent gaps it’s hard to see how this wouldn’t be welcomed.

Again, Greater Manchester’s creative renaissance isn’t a project for which any one figure is responsible, regardless of their commitment and visibility, but the Greater Manchester Creative Sector Plan was built upon the Labour Government’s own national commitments coming out of the recently-launched Industrial Strategy so it’s unlikely that his administration would look to choose a different direction of travel.

What he would need to get to grips with would be taking a firm stance on AI regulation and the difficult balance between respect for IP rights and encouraging new forms of creativity and innovation. Given that businesses in the sector are having to do the same, they’re unlikely to welcome any erosion of their value or that of their work in favour of providing a soft landing for developing tech at their expense. In what has been described as the “battle for the soul of our nation” that may not be the most immediate issue to resolve, but it is an existential one for some of the most important of his corporate constituents.

It’s also worth being realistic about the fact that Manchesterism may not be able to scale nationally. We have the advantage of relatively tight, centralised governance, a very visible creative cluster, and strong legacy institutions to support them. This may be watered down by Whitehall in favour of other priorities, of which there will be many.

Getting Off the Fence 

So, would the creative industries benefit from Burnham as PM? We think so, in no small part due to the already-recognised strategic importance of the sector to the UK economy and a combination of existing commitments and a clear, positive direction for the future. He may not be a transformational figure for the sector, but he is one with a longstanding commitment to its prosperity, even if rolling out the northern model across the UK will be no easy task.  

It’s also worth noting that he’ll have to address some of the negative policy choices which businesses of all kinds have had to reckon with since Labour came back into power, but even if a new national approach may seem like more of the same from the North’s perspective then that may be a pretty good start. 

While we can’t say with any certainty that an Andy Burnham government would be the answer businesses have been looking for, alongside most of the country, we’ll be watching closely as the political landscape develops over the coming months…