So the new Minister for Culture has asked major Arts funding bodies to look at cuts of 25 to 30%.
I recently posted on this subject here http://www.bartonbydesign.co.uk/mr-plug/?p=233
So we are looking at something even more serious. Whilst I genuinely believe that there is an opportunity for all arts organisations to really innovate and create as a result of the austerity, it would be wrong of me not to rant in the strongest possible terms about the cultural impact of this financial rape of what makes our country so precious. Just a brief scan through the Arts Council’s website http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/ will show you some of the superb, exciting and educational projects that will go under the knife. Of course, the Arts are seen as a “Soft” subject, but are they really? When you consider the income that the Arts generate in this country, “Soft” is not the appropriate word. Soft, is a word that could be applied to the complete failure of this government to address the actual cause of the problems in the first place. Vince Cable was at the forefront of the criticism of the bankers, but now seems to be keen on leaping into bed with the bankers and kicking those who do not deserve it. Is this what power does for you Vince? The Lib Dems massive u turn on Tuition fees, which is now mutating into the ill thought out idea of a graduate tax just shows them up to be what they have become; the slightly softer side of what we will grow to think of as the harshest of Tory governments in history. I wanted to run from the party kicking and screaming. I have decided however, to rejoin the party, and try to fight against the changes to what was a superb party.
Whenever anyone questions the “Austerity measures”, I have noticed that it is still ok to refer back to the mess that Labour left us in. I also seem to remember that we wanted to get away from the punch and Judy politics that Cameron Clegg so publicly denounced in the lead up to the election. This new politics has the stench of the old about it, and I fear for the young people that are going to be affected so very deeply by these ridiculous measures.
I will be writing to my beloved MP on this, and many more issues, and expect a swift response. I might even update the blog with the letters.