All change? Welsh Elections 2026 and what they mean for culture and the creative industries in Wales
// creative industries // cultural industries // local elections // policy // scotland // UK Government
Rebecca Maxwell is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Creative UK. She was a journalist for The Scotsman, BBC Scotland and The List. She lives in Edinburgh.
On 7 May, Scotland will go to the polls. 129 MSPs will be elected across the country, with polls predicting the SNP will return a majority. So what does this mean for the arts, culture and creative industries in Scotland?
Three parties have promised development of legislation for the arts – with the Scottish National Party (SNP), Scottish Greens and Scottish Conservatives all referencing a Culture Act.
In the SNP’s manifesto, ‘Always on Scotland’s Side’, culture and creativity are positioned as key to Scotland’s social and economic wellbeing, in a wide-ranging document exploring economic growth, public service reform and securing a renewed mandate for an independence referendum. The sector is very much framed as a driver of jobs, skills, international reputation and community cohesion.
The party has committed to delivering an additional £100 million per year for culture by 2028–29, with at least a further £50 million in additional cultural investment by the end of the next Scottish Parliament. The SNP has also pledged to pilot a Scottish Artists Minimum income. Following on from a successful pilot scheme in Ireland, this scheme would aim to support artists and freelancers, and ultimately grow access to creative careers.
Meanwhile, a Youth Culture Pass for 18‑year‑olds, is designed to engage younger people with cultural venues, festivals and creative businesses – again improving access to creativity from a young age.
The Scottish Greens, meanwhile, state that arts and culture could be ‘the backbone of a fairer society’, stating that ‘through arts and culture we can transform our communities, economy and climate, and build a better Scotland that everyone can enjoy.’
They want to bring forward a Culture Bill to support the rebuild of our cultural sector, including provision of ongoing and long term multi-year funding and invest in grassroots venues and community spaces by introducing a stadium tax – a £1 levy on tickets for all arts, cultural and music events over 2,500 capacity.
They have pledged to protect free access to Scotland’s museums and cultural assets, and review national funding to ensure a fair distribution across the country. They also support greater community involvement in the management of Scotland’s historic and cultural sites, through the creation of community oversight boards, particularly in rural and island communities.
Every primary pupil will be given opportunity to learn and develop through expressive arts, and there is strong support pledged for Gaelic language education and preservation.
If elected, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party pledge to ‘promote Brand Scotland’ and support ‘thriving culture’. It cites support for multi-year cash settlements for cultural organisations through a new Culture Act – and would look to merge some of Scotland’s culture quangos. Reform of Creative Scotland is also mentioned. Their manifesto cites that grants would be tied to ‘guarantees that free speech is upheld in the institutions that receive them’.
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour’s manifesto is around growth-led policies. The party is emphasising a single Industrial Strategy for growth – with a view to unlocking investment in Scotland. Scottish Labour commits to digital adoption funding within the cultural sector, creative technology support through Techscalers and Scottish Enterprise, and a stronger focus on scaling innovative businesses. It’s a strong commitment to creative SMEs, and echoes the approach in Westminster in many ways.
Career pathways are also central here, with industry placements for all secondary pupils, stronger careers advice, entrepreneurial education and expanded access to music tuition, arts, culture and after‑school creative activity. There are also commitments to establish a Major Events Bureau, strengthen the Edinburgh festivals, support creative entrepreneurs through a dedicated allowance, reform Creative Scotland, invest in venues via a creative capital fund and protect historic assets. The aim is to position venues across Scotland as “leading destinations for world class sport, culture, and international conferences”.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats would seek to take forward recommendations of the Creative Scotland review – while ‘tackling the big city bias that exists in how culture money is distributed to nurture and promote talent in every corner of Scotland.’
They are looking to unlocking investment and growth in the games sector by creating a Games Innovation Centre alongside regional hubs, ‘developing expertise and research, fair work, business skills and low-cost office space for start-up studios.’
They also support maintaining free access to national museums and galleries and the creation of Dundee’s Eden Project.
Reform UK Scotland’s manifesto cites the Creative Industries as a ‘cluster of excellence’ in Scotland, though there are no specific references to the sector beyond this.