Political Pilgrim's Progress

One of the many lessons we have learnt over the last few years is that lobbying takes time. There are an infinite amount of resources one can spend in this area to facilitate a never ending stream of industry needs. Sadly, we cannot do them all and there will always be people who will rightly want more from this trade association. However, as the PEGI campaign taught us, if we stick together as a membership we are a powerful lobby and we can do great things. It is this collective force I would like to build on and take forward into 2010 as we look to gain support for the other policies which are essential to our industry.

As the current Prime Minister knows better than anyone, you never get thanked for what you have achieved in politics. In this respect lobbying is, quite rightly, no different. We are still waiting for PEGI to be passed into law and are working hard to ensure it is adopted. However there are many other challenges out there which we must face. As we constantly remind ourselves, our industry has a long way to go before it is considered in the eyes of Parliamentarians to be on a par with films and music.

In addressing this situation we are fortunate that 2010 is an election year. It is a time of political uncertainty, vulnerability and anxiety. It is therefore the time when Parliament listens most. To take advantage of the political climate ELSPA has drawn up a list of policies which we hope to get adopted by all three main political parties in the run up to the general election. These policies range from fighting piracy to building skills in the workforce to financial support, and these will be published shortly on our website. The fact that we are in a position to influence the government’s agenda for the creative industries is testament to how far we have come as an industry and a trade body.

There has been much talk from all three parties for games to have a government sponsored organisation of its own, similar to the UK Film Council. In conjunction with our policy objectives, ELSPA will also explore the potential for this, although there are political obstacles, such the lack of government funding and pressure to cut bureaucracy. It is therefore up to the industry to seize the initiative and develop a plan to get around these difficulties and test the commitment of a new government in this area.

Alongside ensuring the legal passage of PEGI, the adoption of our policies and the development of an industry quango, ELSPA has another enormous task for 2010 and beyond. The general election will bring about the biggest change in Parliament since World War II. Up to half of the faces on HM's Green Benches will be new to the job. In Parliamentary terms, this is a clean slate and therefore a fantastic opportunity to do away with the prejudices of the old and establish the brilliance of videogames in the minds of the new.

Our challenge for 2010 is therefore simple. Begin a new campaign to influence as many of these fresh faced MPs as to the sheer dynamism and positivity of our industry. Ours is not just any other industry, it is the Zeitgeist, the spirit of our times, of the creative sector. We have a wonderful message to sell and as 2010 begins, I for one can't wait to start selling it.