Advocacy

The Creative Society began life in 2009 as New Deal of the Mind, a campaign to use the creative sector to put people to work after the banking crisis had ushered in the great recession. Since then, the charity has always lobbied for change with politicians of all major parties.

In the early days, we successfully lobbied for the reintroduction of the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, an initiative from the 1980s, which encouraged people on benefits to set up their own businesses. At the same time we campaigned against the use of unpaid internships, which helped reinforce privilege in the creative sector. Our Fair Access campaign, funded by Trust for London, provided a model of good employment practice for the sector and was adopted by arts organisations participating in the Arts Council's Creative Employment Programme.

The Creative Job Studio provides a model that can be replicated nationwide. During 2019 we will continue to lobby MPs to help establish this revolutionary new initiative in all parts of the country.