A New Deal of the Mind

A New Deal of the Mind

Martin Bright: A New Deal of the Mind

I’d be interested in people’s thoughts on the report my organization New Deal of the Mind has just written for Arts Council England about employment in the arts and the creative industries during the downturn.

NDotM was originally inspired by the cultural projects of the Roosevelt New Deal but our latest report looks back to Thatcher-era Britain and proposes revisiting something called the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, which allowed people to be paid slightly more than the level of benefit payments for a year if they set themselves up in business. Several cultural entrepreneurs set themselves up on this scheme including Alan McGee of Creation Records and Julian Dunkerton, who founded the Superdry fashion label.

I never imagined I would end up raising the bastard child of Margaret Thatcher and Franklin D. Roosevelt. But desperate times demand desperate solutions.