Cornwall’s creative industries championed at the Labour Party Conference
04 November 2025
Falmouth University was championing creative industries in Cornwall and across the Southwest as part of a panel convened by Creative UK at the recent Labour Party Conference.
Highlighting the opportunities in the region and calling for the Southwest to be recognised as a creative hub and testbed for innovative thinking and investment, Vice-Chancellor Emma Hunt spoke to an audience made up of MPs, universities, businesses and party members. The Creative Alliance South West session was led by Caroline Norbury OBE the Chief Executive of Creative UK and included regional business leaders and Anna Gelderd, Labour MP for Southeast Cornwall.
Professor Emma Hunt, Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive of Falmouth University, said:
“Being in Liverpool has given us another opportunity to speak directly to government and policy makers about the crucial role Cornwall and the Southwest’s creative industries play in supporting employment and prosperity in local communities and beyond. At Falmouth and universities across the region, we are pioneering new technologies, conducting groundbreaking research and producing a world-class pipeline of talent which supports all sectors.
“The Southwest is teeming with ideas, innovation and ambition and is ready to play its part in delivering the government’s Industrial Strategy. Falmouth University is proud to be working with our partners to champion our region’s contribution to the UK’s economic, social and cultural development, and to ensure that the creative industries receive the recognition, support and investment necessary to unlock the opportunities that lie ahead and achieve future success.”
In July this year a report commissioned by the Great South West University Alliance and led by Falmouth University was launched at an event in Westminster attended by MPs and policymakers. The report outlined the sector’s remarkable growth and potential:
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Between 2019 and 2022, the Great South West recorded the fastest Creative Industries job growth of any UK region outside London.
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The region’s Creative Industries now support over 35,000 employees, more than the energy and defence sectors combined, alongside more than 40,000 freelancers and a further 50,000 creative roles in non-creative industries.
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Together, they contribute £2.7 billion in GVA each year, with productivity far exceeding many other sectors.
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The region’s strengths align strongly with the four ‘frontier’ sub-sectors identified in the national Creative Industries Sector Plan: Advertising & Marketing, Music, Performing & Visual Arts, Video Games and Film & TV.
Talking from Liverpool, Caroline Norbury OBE, Chief Executive of Creative UK, said: “I was delighted to host a panel with South West colleagues on the importance of place-based creativity and learning from the experience of Liverpool Baltic ventures. The impressive collaboration between Crowdfunder, Real Ideas Organisation and higher education from talented students to advanced start-ups in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall cannot be ignored.”
Falmouth has worked closely with other universities across the region - Bournemouth, Exeter, Plymouth, Arts University Plymouth and Arts University Bournemouth who also attended the event and are part of the South West Creative Alliance initiative - to advance the argument in support of the role of place in regional development of sectors, and how joint working between industry, local government and education can drive innovation in the creative sector and support the flow of money into the region to enrich coastal and rural communities.
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