“In any civilised community the arts … serious or comic, light or demanding, must occupy a central place. Their enjoyment should not be regarded as something remote from everyday life.” This was a central statement in the white paper (a statement of policy intent) issued 60 years ago by Jennie Lee, the UK’s first minister for the arts under Labour prime minister Harold Wilson in 1965.
Outlining A Policy for the Arts – The First Steps was the first white paper for the arts (and the only one until 2016), and suggested that the arts should be publicly supported, also arguing for increased local and regional support besides national institutions.
Many of Lee’s assertions still ring true today, not least that, “Today’s artists need more financial help, particularly in the early years before they have become established”. There were echoes of that 1965 statement of support for the arts in Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s recent announcement of a £270 million funding package. Indeed, the timing was no accident, Nandy explicitly referenced Lee’s “vision for accessibility in the arts”.
