30 September 2024
Open letter to the Prime Minister on children’s reading

Rt. Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

The Prime Minister

10 Downing Street

London

SW1A 2AA

Dear Prime Minister,

We write to you as a community of publishers, authors, illustrators, booksellers, librarians, teachers, researchers and others working with children’s books and reading.

We call on you as Prime Minister to make a cross-government commitment to prioritise the role of reading for pleasure for children. This would be an investment in the wellbeing, social mobility and life chances of our children and the prosperity and success of the UK.

Evidence shows that we face a growing crisis in reading for pleasure, which has been declining since the pandemic across all socio-economic groups and is particularly pronounced in children from low-income families. There is consistent and longstanding evidence of the benefits of reading for pleasure on outcomes for children and its impact on their wellbeing, empathy skills and behaviour in schools.

While there are many demands on your government in a challenging fiscal climate, an investment in reading for pleasure is an investment in our children’s, and the UK’s, future. Equipping children to access books and to enjoy reading will help to fulfil Labour’s missions of growth and achieving opportunities for all and your commitment to a decade of national renewal. In times of division and social challenge, it will equip our young people with the skills of empathy-building, critical thinking and engagement with big ideas and the world. Reading for pleasure does all this and more.

Publishers and charities have worked with schools, libraries, local authorities and other bodies to plug the policy and funding gap under previous governments, but this is not enough. Our children deserve better. This is a challenge and opportunity that reaches across government departments, contributing to policy ambitions in education, culture, health, local government, employment and more. We ask you to mandate your ministers to work with us to build a national reading for pleasure plan.

Building the reading habit will bring untold benefits to Britain as we face the challenges ahead. We look forward to working with your government.

Yours sincerely,

1,226
signatures
1,146 verified
  1. Aimee Dewar, Brand Strategist, BookMachine, St. Neots
  2. Natasha Whearity, London
  3. Andrew Balerdi, Author Illustrator, Chelmsford
  4. Katherine Josselyn, Children’s books consultant, Freelance, Salisbury
  5. Iram Satti, DEI Manager, Bloomsbury Publishing
  6. Kit Nevile, Commissioning Editor, Canelo, London
  7. Deborah Maclaren, MD, LoveReading4Kids, London
  8. Celine Culliford, Editor, Bloomsbury, London
  9. Rebecca McNally, Publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London
  10. Elizabeth Roy, Retired literary agent, Stamford, Lincs
  11. Abigail Ward, Publishing Apprentice, Bloomsbury Publishing, St Albans
  12. Beatrice Cross, Publicity Director, Bloomsbury Publishing, London
  13. Amy Fitzgerald, Agent, The Bright Agency, London
  14. Alice Furse, Publishing, Michael O'Mara Books, London
  15. Sally Polson, Editorial Director, Floris Books, Edinburgh
  16. Claire Wilson, President, AAA, London
  17. Molly Arbuthnott, Teacher, Oscar and Friends, London
  18. Liz Cross, Managing Director, David Fickling Books, Oxford
  19. Evangeline Sellers, Editor, HarperCollins, Glasgow
  20. Emma Draude, Managing Director, ED PUBLIC RELATIONS, London
...
1,106 more
verified signatures
  1. Loraine Evans, Children's Programme Manager, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Cheltenham
  2. Sophie Jonas-Hill, illustrator, Herne Bay
  3. Simon Bor, Writer/Artist, Self, Crediton
  4. Joanne Mckeown, Librarian, Hamilton
  5. Jade Kirton, Librarian, Devon School Library Service, Devon
  6. Phyllis Ramage, Librarian, London
  7. Aaron Xerri, Teacher, Amery Hill School, Hampshire
  8. Eryn Browning, Co-Convenor, Scottish Young Greens, Glasgow
  9. Leane Kinsella, School Library Manager, St John Bosco Arts College, Liverpool
  10. Samantha Rolfe, Teacher, Amery Hill School, Alton, Hampshire
  11. Mark Bristow, Brough
  12. Kimberley Fowell, School Librarian, Amery Hill School, Alton
  13. Alexandra Collins, Library Team Assistant, Hampshire Libraries, Petersfield
  14. Lily F, Public Librarian, Portsmouth
  15. Karen Young, Library Team Assistant, Hampshire County Council, Hampshire
  16. Cherry Land, COO, Read for Good, Nailsworth
  17. Larissa Naylor, Professor, University of Glasgow, Glasgow
  18. Stuart Cairns, Trustee, The Music Works Charity, Gloucester
  19. Suzanne Mitchell, Hampshire School Library Service, Southampton
  20. Maggie Shaw, Author and Publisher, Eregendal, Crewe
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