With the cost of living, taxation and, in the last few days, D-day commemoration, commanding the lion’s share of campaign attention, little has yet been paid to the parties’ plans for the arts and cultural sector this general election. Pleasingly, however, the Liberal Democrat (Lib Dems) manifesto (the first to launch) devotes one of its 22 sections to “culture, media and sport”.
Details are somewhat vague at this early stage, but one thing they make a commitment to is maintaining free access to museums and galleries and to lottery funding for sports and the arts. While these commitments are welcome, they do not go far enough, especially outside the institution-rich capital.
Cash-strapped councils such as Birmingham are having to reduce or cut entirely their spending on arts, and spending on cultural institutions by local authorities has nearly halved during the last 12 years.
