Kim McGuinness, Labour candidate for North East Mayor, has pledged to develop the creative industries, calling them an 'economic lifeline.'
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00:00 to talk about this. I think our creative industries is the missing part of our plans for inclusive
00:06 North East and we heard Keir Starmer talk about how important this is only earlier in
00:11 the week. It's like he's been listening to us, the creation. Just imagine, someone
00:15 who listens to us. And this is the bit where I get to talk about Sam Fender. Sam, and for
00:21 those of you who don't know him, the Geordie Bruce Springsteen, is some of our homegrown
00:25 talent. I went to his gigs at St James' Park and I tell you what, it was incredible.
00:29 There were more toon tops at those gigs than I've ever seen at a Newcastle United match.
00:34 And he faced hardship as a child, he's talked about that, but now he's one of our leading
00:40 cultural life. Now don't quote me, I'm not going to say that everybody should grow up
00:44 with an album or two in mind, but we do certainly need more of them. But despite Sam adding
00:49 his name to the long list of celebrity Northerners, he's actually becoming a bit rare these
00:53 days, because just like wealth and political agency, in the UK, cultural power is concentrated
01:00 in London. And it doesn't have to be that way. The North East of England has a thriving
01:04 art scene, but it needs turbo charging. Not just for the prestige, but because a revitalised
01:10 cultural scene, arts and sport are also an economic lifeline for those that stay here,
01:16 for those that choose to live here. Culture can lead regeneration and create jobs, we
01:22 can see that right here in Bishop, and it can create opportunity for all. But you can't
01:27 just build a museum and a concert hall and say, that's it, job done. You have to invest
01:31 in people first. Look at the gig economy, and I mean the one with the kind of roadies
01:35 and the techies, not the other one. Around 34,000 people work in the UK's live music
01:41 industry. It's a key growth area for the North. And yet, the way we invest in skills
01:46 in creative industries doesn't even come close to reflecting that. I think that people
01:51 who are running the music nights, often on the side, could power a whole new top tier
01:56 in our economy. Those people are proud of their Northern identity, just like you and
02:00 me. They want to shout about it, and now we need to be backing them with the skills training
02:05 and the career progression. Music can do for our region what comedy did for Edinburgh,
02:11 and I really, really mean that. There's no reason why the success we see in America's
02:16 South by Southwest can't be replicated in the North by North East. Why not? The signs
02:21 of our cultural potential are there. Just look at the plans in Sunderland that we all
02:25 backed, that we all fought hard for, alongside 4Well73, to secure the Crownworks Studios,
02:32 one of Europe's biggest film studios on the banks of the River Weir. It is transformational,
02:37 but it's vital. When that studio is at its peak, it's telling the stories dreamt up
02:43 by Northern writers and starring Northern actors, and made by local technicians and
02:48 set builders built by local joiners. We can't rely on London to tell our story for us. Talent
02:54 is classless, and the people here have it, and they have the pride to shape our future.
02:59 They shouldn't have to go to London to do it. They should be able to do it here. And
03:03 so no more will culture be the add-on for those who can afford it at weekends. We will
03:08 put culture and our creative industries at the heart of our regional industrial strategy,
03:13 and we'll end the trope of the struggling artist and embrace the economic benefit that
03:17 that this sector can bring.