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SHINFIELD STUDIOS helps bring employment in the creative industries, and would be part of its drive for economic growth, says a senior Labour politician during a visit to the region.
Chris Byrant, who is the Shadow Minister for Creative Ministries, came with the party’s chair, Anneliese Dodds, to meet the party’s general election candidates for Wokingham, Earley and Woodley, Reading Central and Reading West and Mid Berkshire.
He was thrilled to be at the creative hub which, when complete, will have 18 sound stages and some of the most advanced facilities in Europe. It has already hosted filming for the new Ghostbusters film and Star Wars series, with other – top secret – projects in the works.
“It’s amazing being here in Shinfield,” Mr Bryant said. “This is a symbol of the way the creative industries are so important to this part of the world, in particular to Reading and the Thames Valley.
“I hope lots of kids will think there is a future for them in the screen industry. It isn’t necessarily just acting or doing the lights or whatever. They also need accountants and lawyers and so on.
“One in 14 people in the UK work in creative industries, and it is a bit higher locally. My guess is that after five or 10 years of a Labour government, you’d have one in 10, so this is a big part of our drive for economic growth.”
Mr Bryant also pledged to look at ways local news can be supported and protected if Labour wins the election. Reading Today and Wokingham Today are both hyperlocal publications, which means they are locally owned and produced, with no financial backing other than from the community they serve.
“It’s part of having a strong, functioning country that you need to have proper scrutiny of decisions made by local councillors, you need proper news reporting,” he said.
“One of the things that that seems to have disappeared in the last few years is so many local newspapers, so yes, we want to do more to make sure (local news) is protected.”
He added: “People who write should be able to earn a living from what they write. Unfortunately, the way the internet is structured at the moment makes it very difficult for newspapers and news gatherers and people who write opinion and so on to protect their copyright.
“That’s one thing we’ve got to look at.”
Mr Byrant was champing at the bit to get cracking if Labour win the general election on July 4.
“I’ve been an MP since 2001, and there is nothing more miserable than being in opposition because all you do is shout at the government,” he said. “What I really want is a Labour government with a decent majority so we’re able to bring about change.
“We’ve knocked on thousands of doors in marginal seats, seats that are now marginal that I wouldn’t even have thought would have been five years ago. People constantly say to me, ‘Nothing is better now than it was when the Tories came in. My mortgage has gone through the roof’.
“People are really struggling to put food on the table, still using food banks, even in wealthy parts of the country.
“This is a country that desperately needs change.”
