The People’s Assembly Against Austerity was formed in 2013 to ensure that the ConDem government faces a movement of opposition broad enough and powerful enough to generate successful co-ordinated action against its violent programme of cuts. In June, 50,000 people marched through London to show their support for this growing movement.

We now recognise a need to initiate an Artists’ Assembly Against Austerity to organise artists across all media, writers, musicians, performers, broadcasters, technicians, administrators, audiences and allies under our shared aim to end the cuts and protect public services. As we see it, artists have as much to lose as many other groups as a result of a dwindling public sector; the Artists' Assembly will provide a space in which we can mobilise to affect real change.

Our demands centre on four key issues:

1) Healthcare: Healthcare – free at the point of need – is a human right and a cornerstone of a fair society. A fully privatised healthcare system would leave many people in the UK, including artists, without coverage. 

2) Education: Many artists rely on teaching to support their practice to some extent. But as a result of government cuts jobs are harder to come by, wages are going down in real terms while student experience suffers. We do not want fees of £9,000 per year to put working-class people off studying creative subjects and contribute to the gentrification of cultural life and artistic production.

3) Housing: We need affordable homes and studios, and this means capping rent at reasonable levels and ending cuts to housing benefit.

4) Arts Investment: We demand that the government take a rational approach to arts investment which generates a significant cash benefit to the tax payer. This means no more cuts to the cultural and heritage sectors and reinstatement of arts funding to pre-2010 levels, appropriately adjusted for inflation.

Privatisation is a serious threat to our public services; now is the time to mobilise against the cuts.

To register your ongoing support and to help build the movement, please email:

artists@thepeoplesassembly.org.uk.