General Election 2024: A look at the Conservative Manifesto

The Conservative party manifesto, released on Tuesday, outlined their plans and policies for the upcoming election. As expected, much of the manifesto focused on the economy, immigration and healthcare, with the lowering of taxes being the key focus point. Nevertheless, there were a few mentions of their plans for the Arts and Theatre industry and community.

The Policies

Whilst outlining their education policies, the Conservative party stated that they will continue to make use of the multi-million-pound Music Hubs around the country to ensure that children continue to receive a broad and enriched education during and after-school. Also, their plans for the Arts and Theatre industry, include promoting apprenticeships as a way to facilitate “a key pipeline of talent into our world-leading creative industries.”

The Conservative party manifesto emphasised the growth of the creative sector over the past 14 years. It states that 1 million new jobs have been created and that the economic value of creative industries has doubled. To encourage more people to train in this sector, they are also planning to set up a “dedicated flexible coordination service” which will allow everyone who wants to work in the film, TV, gaming and music sectors to work on live productions whilst benefiting from at least 12 months of secure training.

Moreover, in line with a lot of their other policies, the Conservatives are planning to offer competitive tax incentives to the creative sector. As well as planning to financially support the creative sector and encourage more apprenticeships in the industry, the Conservative party acknowledges the impact that AI could have on the sector. They say that they will ensure that creators are “properly protected and remunerated for their work” whilst also making the most out of the opportunities present by AI.

To further support the creative industry, the Conservative party is planning to extend the Community Ownership Fund which has already saved more than 330 pubs, sports clubs, arts venues and community spaces. Moreover, they will continue to support the country’s museums and libraries as well as creative sector events such as the Hay Festival, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival whilst also continuing to back Welsh language broadcasting

The Conservative Party General Election manifesto was released on June 11th and can be accessed here. The 2024 U.K. General Election will take place on July 4th