Louisa Jackson, founder of Craic, is passionate about the future of Comedy and is calling for more unity from across the industry to get our voices heard as part of the UK’s rich and diverse cultural landscape.
Jackson was part of a recent executive briefing focused on securing the future of the UK comedy industry convened by Ian Murray, Minister of State for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries, along with Samantha Niblett MP and Dr Simon Opher MP.
Craic also co-hosted a London Comedy Business & Growth Roundtable in October with Rachel Blake MP and Howard Dawber OBE, bringing together policymakers and comedy industry leaders to focus on growth, resilience, and long-term sustainability.
‘One clear, practical opportunity I’ve been pushing for is the consistent recognition of comedy within national strategy, says Jackson. ‘Including ‘#comedy‘ (as a word) alongside music and theatre across DCMS reports, funding portals, AI task forces, and related policy frameworks would be a simple but meaningful step—making the sector visible, measurable, and far easier to support through investment and innovation policy.’
Jackson says she would welcome UKRI leading the way on including ‘comedy’ as a standard category across future funding portals, investment strategies, and research classifications, so comedy businesses and professionals are not navigating systems that were never designed with them in mind.
Despite the thriving UK Comedy scene, its economic and cultural contribution is still taken for granted.
Says Jackson: ‘The sector generates billions in revenue and significant tax receipts, yet reinvestment and strategic support have not kept pace, particularly at a moment when COVID aftershocks and AI are reshaping creative work at speed.
‘There is a real appetite across the industry to collaborate with the UK Government on this. With the right recognition and coordination, comedy can move from fragility to shared growth—supporting talent, businesses, and the public alike.’
For more information visit Craic, the leading platform in comedy industry technologies founded by Louisa Jackson, and Comedy On Prescription, to find out more about how comedy is influencing social prescribing.
