Good evening, and thank you all for joining us for the Freelancer of the Year Awards: the event that first made June 8th a… popular date for major national decisions.
It’s great to see so many familiar – and new – faces in the audience tonight. And I’d also like to welcome everyone watching live from our satellite events in Bristol and Manchester.
As you may know, I’m James Collings, Chairman of IPSE. It’s a role I take particular pride in tonight, a night when we celebrate not only excellence in freelancing, but also the great success of IPSE throughout the year.
In 2016 and 2017, we really have gone from strength to strength, even as the UK has veered through uncertain times. Across the country, more people than ever before are choosing to work for themselves and go it alone in self-employment. And IPSE is doing more than ever to represent them – both through our membership benefits and our advocacy in government.
This year will see the introduction of a new position in government, the Small Business Commissioner, which IPSE was instrumental in bringing about. Not only that: heeding IPSE’s advice, the last government also launched a nation-wide study of modern employment practices, the Taylor Review. And we’ve already submitted our response, calling for a statutory definition of self-employment.
And then, of course, there’s the election. In a matter of weeks, we put together a polished, powerful manifesto, making the case for the importance of the self-employed and calling on all parties to recognise their contribution and support them in the next parliament.
It’s been a big year for our membership too. Since last year, we’ve secured high-profile partnerships with major names in everything from legal advice to accounting software, getting a better deal for our members.
And it’s not just our membership offering – we’ve also increased our overall membership significantly over the last year, not least with our new deal for drivers using the Uber app. We’ve already had a great response from drivers, and more are joining every day. With every new member, our voice grows stronger, and we can do more to get the government and the UK as a whole to recognise the vital contribution made by the self-employed.
After all, that’s why we’re here tonight isn’t it? That’s why we’ve dragged ourselves away from the… delights of this year’s general election: to celebrate freelancers and the self-employed – all 4.8 million of you. We’re here to celebrate the contribution you make to our economy. The dynamism you bring to our workforce. And your dedication and hard work, day-in, day out.
I hope you’ve enjoyed National Freelancers Day so far, and I’d like to thank everyone who’s made it possible, from our excellent speakers and panellists throughout the day, to our event sponsors, HSBC, Close Brothers, 123 Reg & Microsoft, Freelancer.com, Intuit Quickbooks, Kingsbridge Contractor Insurance and and Contractor Mortgages Made Easy.
Now, without further ado, let’s move on to the Freelancer of the Year Awards. We’ve got a great evening lined up for you, in the course of which we’ll be announcing the Aspire and Inspire Freelancers of the Year, the University and Co-working Space of the Year and the IPSE Ambassador of the Year. All introduced by our brilliant host, who you’ve already met: the comedian and self-styled ‘Steve Tyler lookalike’, Ellie Taylor.
Now I’d like to welcome to the stage our keynote speaker for the evening, the former President and CEO of Kelly Services, one of the world’s leading labour and workforce specialists, a man at the forefront of self-employment in the United States, who has been featured in everything from Bloomberg and Business Week to the New York Times and the Huffington Post… Mr Carl Camden!