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Publishing's priorities
With the General Election looming, it’s time for us to fight our industry’s corner.
It is just four weeks until voters go to the polls in the UK’s 2024 General Election.
The political party campaigns are well underway and the full list of candidates for every constituency will be published tomorrow. With current polls showing a significant shift in the make-up of Parliament could be on the cards, publishers may wonder what the election means for the sector and what our priorities are for the incoming government.
The Publishers Association’s Vision for Publishing sets out the sector’s 10 asks of government, from protecting copyright to ensuring every child has access to books. The Vision has been the cornerstone of our engagement with politicians this year and will be central to the campaign period and beyond. As covered in The Bookseller, it shows that UK publishing is worth £11 billion to the UK economy, supports 84,000 jobs and has the potential to grow by £5.6 billion in the next decade.
This is a strong calling card to any new government. As a sector, we can use the campaign period to champion the value of publishing. That could be letting your local candidates know more about your work or promoting the sector’s asks of the next government to your authors and readers.
A new government will come into office with big promises to fulfil. We can show how publishers add huge value and can help the government to achieve its aims — whether in driving economic growth through exports, powering scientific advances or boosting children’s progress at school. As outlined in the Vision, some of our key asks as we head towards the election are:
Copyright and AI
The UK’s copyright framework has set the global standard, giving creators the ability to create and rights-holders the incentive to invest. The next government must uphold this global advantage, including ensuring AI developers respect intellectual property (IP) law. Publishers deliver cutting-edge AI products and provide the high-quality content that powers AI. But AI growth cannot come at the expense of IP rights. That puts the creative industries, and the value of human creativity itself, at risk. Responsible AI, which is built on the lawful use of IP, isn’t just good for publishers and authors. It is good for the whole economy, as it means AI is legal, reliable and trustworthy. We call for retrospective action against infringement and support for transparency and licensing, so that publishers and authors know if their work has been used to train AI and are rightly compensated.
We can show how publishers add huge value and can help the government to achieve its aims
Access to books and reading
Although we know reading is central to people’s life chances, many primary schools do not have a library and public libraries have faced budget cuts. We are now starting to see a worrying decline in children reading for pleasure. The incoming government should work with the sector to ensure every child has access to books and reading. This will unlock their potential and bring huge benefits to wider society.
Axe the tax on publishing
In 2020, after a successful campaign led by the Publishers Association, the government rightly removed VAT from e-books. However, VAT remains on audiobooks and open access publishing fees. That means VAT is unfairly impacting those who use audiobooks more, including people with sight loss and dyslexia. Abolishing VAT on audiobooks will enable fair access for everyone.
Unlock UK research and innovation
Publishers make trusted, cutting-edge UK research accessible and discoverable to a global audience. With the right support, UK publishers can help to unleash even greater potential in UK research and innovation. The next government must ensure the UK’s research bodies have the means to support high-quality academic publishing, universities have the funding they need to flourish, and UK research and development (R&D) investment matches other similar countries.
What’s next? Whatever the vote on 4th July 2024, the election will usher in a government keen to deliver its promises to voters. It is now time to remind your local candidates of the impact you make in their constituency and to share the sector’s priorities far and wide. As the Vision for Publishing shows, this is a sector that makes a hugely positive contribution to the UK and stands ready to do even more.
