What does a Freelance Champion mean for contractors?

A seemingly out-of-the-blue government pledge to “support the self-employed” is something we think all UK contractors can get behind, even if it’s been sounded mainly about Britain’s creative industries, writes Fred Hicks, senior policy adviser at IPSE.

Made on June 23rd 2025, the pledge came under an announcement to appoint a “freelance champion” as part of a new Creative Industries Sector Plan (CISP).

Translated -- expect someone who represents the interest of independent professionals, particularly where they work in film, TV, and the Arts.

A new freelance champion -- for IT, software and computer services workers too

Similar to the technology sector, the creative industries are a vital part of the UK economy, where freelancers play a crucial role.

Interestingly for ContractorUK readers, the definition of creative industries (updated in 2001) -- “those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent…and [involve] exploitation of intellectual property,” still includes IT, Software & Computer Services.

Labour’s ‘freelance champion,’ the political context

For those of us who campaign on behalf of freelancers, or ‘contractors’ as they’re known in technology circles, a new freelance champion getting sign-off is a positive development.

With ministers being pulled in a thousand different directions, as the Sir Keir Starmer-led Labour government approaches its first year, the freelance champion appointment (TBC) signifies an understanding that the self-employed need the focused attention of a public-facing individual within government.

It will undoubtedly be met with cynicism by many freelancers and contractors. Aside from being dealt with tax hikes and more bureaucracy, independent workers feel like they’ve been overlooked in policymaking for years.

Why the freelance champion isn’t a flash in the pan-type of idea

But as I’ll come to, the need for an individual to champion freelance professionals hasn’t come completely out of nowhere.

The Lords have been debating the role since it was first called for back in November 2020.

Well, thanks to the below pledge in the new CISP, we now have a blank canvas on which the scope of this new post, entirely dedicated to freelancers, contractors and the self-employed, can be fleshed out.

What has Labour said about the freelance champion?

On page 25 of the CISP, which is part of the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, the government says it:

“Will appoint a creative freelance champion, to advocate for the sector’s creative freelancers within government and be a member of the Creative Industries Council.

“Terms of reference will be developed with industry and a freelance champion appointed in 2025.

“The government will continue to support the industry’s work to deliver the Good Work Review action plan, which aims to strengthen job quality across the sector, support the self-employed and focus on developing high-quality jobs.”

Time for us at IPSE to engage

A freelance champion is absolutely worth engaging positively and proactively with the government on, following quite a few years of freelancers ‘going missing’ in UK policymaking.

So engagement about this new post is what we at IPSE will be doing, supported, we hope, by the unions and other associations dedicated to supporting freelance creatives.

All we need now is for the government to begin consulting on what specifically the role of “freelance champion” will entail.

At this early stage, we believe the real challenge for the government will be to set the right expectations with industry.

As stated previously in this article, though, this isn’t a brand new idea -- so the government doesn’t have to start entirely from scratch.

Is ‘freelance commissioner’ the same thing as ‘freelance champion?’

Indeed, calls for a “freelance commissioner” within the creative sector have been made for years.

Those calls have been growing louder recently as the importance of the sector and its freelancers has become harder to ignore.

Before I come to ‘commissioner’ versus ‘champion,’ because it is an important distinction keep in mind, the sector’s work is globally significant.

Britain has a place on the global stage that government needs to support

Media export consultants K7 Media reportedly confirmed in this quarter that the UK is now the world’s biggest exporter of unscripted TV shows, with British formats behind one in three new TV adaptations in 2024. Also in May 2025, advertising industry think tank Credos said that the UK’s advertising services sector was second only to the US in its export value.

I could go on; but what’s more important to us is that this success is underpinned by approximately 289,000 solo self-employed professionals in artistic, media and literary occupations -- the second largest self-employed group after building trades.

Covid put paid to the idea contracting was at policymaking’s heart

Perplexingly, along with freelancers, contractors and independent traders of all kinds, these solo self-employed have mostly been an afterthought in policymaking.

The coronavirus pandemic laid this bare.

Government-provided income support for the self-employed during covid was patchy and in many cases non-existent. And the sector has struggled to gain the government’s attention since. The film and TV sector has also faced its own problems with IR35 and risk-averse ‘blanket’ approaches to freelancer recruitment.

The UK government’s appointment of a freelance champion could at least begin to change the record.

The UK freelance champion needs three things to happen next

However, there are three things we think needs clarifying, granting and prioritising, respectively, to follow through on this change.

1. Statutory status, or not?

So far, Labour has avoided the word “commissioner.”

And it’s a “commissioner” that the Lords have been working on (as recently as Feb 2025, here).

Semantics matter in Westminster, and this choice to not use the ‘c-word’ might be a sign of hesitance to give the role formal powers or statutory status, à la Small Business Commissioner.

This could make the post easier to abolish in future, but it would also give the post-holder more flexibility.

Either way, we need clarity on the remit, including whether the post of freelance champion will have statutory status.

2. An effective freelance champion needs to be granted cross-departmental powers

At the time of writing (June 27th 2025), we know that the freelance champion will be appointed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to advocate for freelancers within government. And the champion will get a seat at the table of the Creative Industries Council, a government-run industry forum.

But behind the scenes, we’d like the champion to be empowered by ministers to challenge and influence early policy development across government, particularly within the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions.

3. Money and minds will matter if the freelance champion is to succeed

The office of freelance champion also needs to be adequately resourced.

We know budgets are tight in Whitehall, but if the UK is going to appoint a champion, why not give them a strong team to work with?

With even a modest retinue under their wing, a freelance champion would have more capacity to consult widely with freelancers and trade bodies, as well as being a hub of knowledge and understanding of the freelance way of working within government.

That’s something that, mystifyingly in 2024-25, we don’t truly have today.

TLDR: What the freelance champion means for contractors

If set up correctly, with a clear remit and real influence, this new post could become a model for how to give the self-employed a stronger voice in other parts of government.

That’s why this appointment should matter even to those working outside the creative industries.

But the government must resist the temptation to treat this as a symbolic gesture. It’s noticeable that the freelance champion is somewhat lost on a long list of things which the government says (on p70 of the CISP) that it is partly industry’s “role” to sort out.

Instead, the freelance champion should be seen by the government as the start of it taking a more structured approach to good policymaking for independent professionals.