Q&A: Ed Vaizey MP

Conservative Shadow Arts and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey says he would like to set up a group for dialogue with the UK games industry on similar lines to the UK Film Council.

Should the Tories gain power in the next general election the Member of Parliament for Wantage and Didcot said he would be keen to negotiate tax breaks with the industry.

Speaking to Boomtown Mr Vaizey explained his views on how a Conservative government would approach ties with the videogames industry and where the current Labour government is going wrong.

Boomtown: Given that you advocate change in the way government responds to the UK games industry, what do you think is wrong with the way the Labour administration approaches the games industry at present?

Ed Vaizey: The Government has ignored the industry. It does not act as an advocate for it, and allows those with negative opinions about games to hold sway. We have seen the games industry slip from second to fifth in world league tables, and the Government has refused to even investigate practical ways to secure our games industry’s success.

Boomtown: How would a Conservative government change this? What benefit would the industry see from a similar organisation to the UK Film Council? And what would the government and nation gain?

Ed Vaizey: We would look at all the options. Skills are very important and we want to make sure there are home-grown graduates ready to work in the industry. We will explore whether the film tax break could be extended to video games. A UK Video Games council would raise the profile of the industry and act as a strong advocate for it.

Boomtown: What is your perception of the UK games industry - where is it getting things right and where is it getting things wrong?

Ed Vaizey: There are two trade bodies with meaningless acronyms – ELSPA and TIGA. They should merge and form the UK Video Games Association. The games industry’s PR is getting better, but it is not doing enough to show how it ticks all the boxes – employing maths and computer science graduates, a strong regional presence throughout the UK, massive benefits in terms of tools for education, health and so on.

Boomtown: Where does the Conservative party stand on age-ratings, regulation and censorship for videogames in the retail space?

Ed Vaizey: We support the current proposals put forward by the Government.

Boomtown: With traditional forms of advertising having less impact on people more likely to be playing videogames than watching a party political broadcast, how can the Conservative party reach out to the gaming generation?

Ed Vaizey: The video games generation is very computer literate. Whenever I talk about games, it is picked up by numerous blogs and word gets out. I get more feedback from the public – gamers – on what I say about games than any other topic.

If you're interested in reading more from Ed Vaizey, his blog can be found here.