UK could lose 8,000 cultural sector jobs in no-deal Brexit, says report
Analysis was commissioned by London mayor Sadiq Khan
The UK’s cultural sector could lose 8,000 jobs and £500m in economic output by 2030 under a no-deal Brexit, a study commissioned by London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned.
The report found that 1,000 cultural sector jobs in London and 7,000 in the rest of the UK would be lost if Britain were to leave the single market and customs union in 2019 with no transitional deal in place.
And it warned that any form of Brexit would “widen geographic inequalities across the UK”, due to London’s stronger economic resilience. It forecast that the economic output of the cultural sector would decrease by 1.4% nationwide, compared to a 0.3% decrease in London.
The analysis by Cambridge Econometrics considered the economic impact of five scenarios modelling the range of possible outcomes for the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
It found that a soft Brexit, in which the UK remains part of the single market with a two-year transitional period from 2019, would still cause the loss of 3,000 cultural sector jobs in the UK.
“The government must do everything it can to ensure the capital remains an attractive place for creatives to put down roots,” said Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture and creative industries. “It is clear that a no-deal, hard Brexit, without a transitional deal will place all this under threat.”
9% of employees in London’s arts, entertainment and recreational sectors were born in the EEA, including Alice Black, the director of the Design Museum, and Hartwig Fischer, the director of the British Museum.
The study also highlighted the impact of lost EU funding on UK arts projects, saying that securing cultural funding post-Brexit is a “major concern”. The UK currently benefits from the EU’s Creative Europe and Regional Development funds.
The Creative Industries Federation said that the report “acknowledges the major danger Brexit poses to our creative and cultural industries and the special challenge London faces in tackling it.”
Across all sectors, the report found that 500,000 jobs and £50bn of investment would be lost across the UK in the wake of a hard Brexit.
The report found that 1,000 cultural sector jobs in London and 7,000 in the rest of the UK would be lost if Britain were to leave the single market and customs union in 2019 with no transitional deal in place.
And it warned that any form of Brexit would “widen geographic inequalities across the UK”, due to London’s stronger economic resilience. It forecast that the economic output of the cultural sector would decrease by 1.4% nationwide, compared to a 0.3% decrease in London.
The analysis by Cambridge Econometrics considered the economic impact of five scenarios modelling the range of possible outcomes for the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
It found that a soft Brexit, in which the UK remains part of the single market with a two-year transitional period from 2019, would still cause the loss of 3,000 cultural sector jobs in the UK.
“The government must do everything it can to ensure the capital remains an attractive place for creatives to put down roots,” said Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture and creative industries. “It is clear that a no-deal, hard Brexit, without a transitional deal will place all this under threat.”
9% of employees in London’s arts, entertainment and recreational sectors were born in the EEA, including Alice Black, the director of the Design Museum, and Hartwig Fischer, the director of the British Museum.
The study also highlighted the impact of lost EU funding on UK arts projects, saying that securing cultural funding post-Brexit is a “major concern”. The UK currently benefits from the EU’s Creative Europe and Regional Development funds.
The Creative Industries Federation said that the report “acknowledges the major danger Brexit poses to our creative and cultural industries and the special challenge London faces in tackling it.”
Across all sectors, the report found that 500,000 jobs and £50bn of investment would be lost across the UK in the wake of a hard Brexit.