So on Tuesday this week on 22nd August a petition was published that Laura Evans submitted and at nearly 10pm on Wednesday evening it achieved 20,000 signatures and on Friday evening it has achieved 26,000. On Wednesday there were seven locations that had not yet petitioned in midland area of England and two in north Scotland but within 30 hours all of the constituents have endorsed this petition. It will be very interesting to see how quickly it achieves 100,000 signatures. The significant area is around London but the rest of the whole of the UK has endorsed it in the last couple of days. The 642539 petition can be obtained from here and this is the text below.

Create income replacement scheme for crew affected by writers and actors strikes

We want the Government to do more to support UK TV and Film Crew who are unable to work due to strikes by actors and writers. The UK freelance crew who work on these projects need financial support and reassurance from the Government that they will not abandon the crew during this crisis.

The UK Film and TV industry contributes billions to the economy, and a large proportion of production is based on work from US studios. Current US strikes mean that work has disappeared for many UK freelance crew overnight.

There has been no bespoke support for the crew during the strikes. Many are only just recovering financially after Covid and now find themselves again without work. Many are suffering financially and mentally and are having to find work elsewhere. This could have a long-term effect on the entire industry