Questions about the politics of support for the arts have always been fraught and the recent announcement about Arts Council England’s latest funding round is no exception. At the heart of the current controversy is the movement of millions of pounds away from key London organisations to the regions. This move was ordered by former culture secretary Nadine Dorries in the name of “levelling up”, which was a Conservative election promise to spread economic opportunity across the country.
Among the high-profile organisations losing out are the Royal Opera House, the National Theatre and the Southbank Centre. The English National Opera will lose its annual grant and instead receive support to relocate outside the capital. Mayor of London, Sadiq Kahn, summarised the alarm at this development:
