The arts in their many forms are among the UK’s greatest assets. They not only help define our nation but are crucial to our quality of life. A vibrant cultural offering enhances our cities and towns, stimulates the economy, and serves as a valuable resource for enjoyment, education, health, and wellbeing.
I vividly remember when music was allowed in pubs again after the lockdowns. It was so emotional to hear live music again, I found tears running down my cheeks. Yet, over the past 14 years, all forms of the arts have suffered significant reductions in funding from both central and local government. Coupled with a pandemic, austerity, and a cost-of-living crisis, this is a nightmare scenario. The importance of cultural education in schools has also been downgraded, if not forgotten – although I suspect not in elite public schools.
Culture wars
The Conservatives have muddied the waters further, dragging organisations like the BBC and the National Trust into disputes over ‘woke’ – even trivia like whether butter should be used in scones. If there is a change of government at the general election, the Labour Party should immediately show its support for the arts and heritage by reversing the Conservative’s deliberate, damaging narrative.
Earlier this year, the Labour Party produced a report, Creating Growth – Labour’s Plan for the Arts, Culture, and Creative Industries, to mixed response. Speaking to some Yorkshire-based organisations and creatives the following areas are key.
Local authority arts funding
Since the introduction of austerity in 2010, local public services have faced severe funding cuts. Rising costs of social care and other statutory responsibilities have dramatically impacted budgets, with the arts taking a significant hit. The 2023 Key Cities Report stated:
“Investment in the arts in England through local authorities in capital and revenue expenditure has dropped by more than 30% in real terms between 2009–10 and 2019–20 in response to an overall decline in local government budgets over this period.”
This crisis in local authority funding has resulted in drastic measures, such as Birmingham’s plan to completely cut arts funding. Other councils, such as Wakefield, have continued to invest in the arts, leaving an uneven cultural landscape.
Steven Busfield, co-director of Empath Action CIC, told me:
“At a time when national cuts have been devastating to the arts and third sector, Wakefield Council joins counterparts such as Leeds and Bradford in recognising that citizen-led participatory arts opportunities and wellbeing go hand in hand. Cultural offers cannot solve issues like food insecurity or financial hardship, and nor should they be expected to do so, but at a time when everyone is feeling squeezed by the harsh economic climate, this [Our Year 2024] is giving us reasons to feel that our vibrant district is worth shouting about.”
Labour needs to evaluate arts funding as a matter of urgency. Although it will require investment, the expenditure is comparatively low, especially given the returns in community cohesion and creative opportunities.
Education
Conservative emphasis on STEM subjects has led to a significant decline in arts education. Labour should attempt to reintegrate cultural subjects, recognising their many important roles in a young person’s development. This involves committing time and resources to ensure children can make regular cultural visits and have access to affordable instrument lessons. It is essential to address long-term educational and social inequalities.
Cheryl Martin, artistic director of acclaimed Red Ladder Theatre Company explained:
“The importance of the arts needs to be signalled by funding arts subjects from primary through to university level properly, including funding more arts teachers, from drama to visual arts to music. It is clear that students have heard the current STEM-priority messaging and fewer are taking drama at GCSE and A-Level.”
Widening disabled access and participation in the arts
Disabled people have been disproportionately affected by austerity since 2010. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities published a report in April showing that austerity and welfare policies were still leading to grave and systematic violations of disabled people’s human rights in the UK. The UK has gone from being a leader in supporting disabled people, to a country where their basic human rights are constantly challenged. The role of the arts is crucial.
Jo Verrent, director of Wakefield-based Unlimited, told me:
“Involvement in the arts can provide both respite and escape, it can empower and enable self-expression and, perhaps more importantly still, it can enable the rest of the world to hear our stories and understand our experiences. But it constantly feels like we are under siege.”
Verrent explained that while disable people make up 23% of the population, they form only 5–8% of the arts audience, participants, governance, and workforce.
Rebalancing funding
In the UK, a US system of philanthropic support for the arts was always unrealistic – and not even desirable. The previous Labour government had a balanced funding model: a third from the public purse, a third from box office sales, and a third from philanthropy. This prevented over-reliance on wealthy donors and kept the arts accountable to the public.
Currently we seem to have the worst of all worlds. Arts organisations are forced into aggressive, unsustainable fundraising and competitive bidding. Donations from investment firms and controversial donors are under increasing scrutiny. Labour should recognise public funding for the arts as essential for maintaining a diverse and vibrant cultural landscape. But it is not always an easy sell to the public, with the health service and social care system desperately needing investment. The Labour Party has promised a review of Arts Council England, which will consider how best to position it for the next decade.
Theatre producer Chris Lloyd commented:
“Standstill funding for many of the Arts Council’s core clients coupled with the incredible hike in energy costs has meant many theatres have reduced the range of work they buy in, or offer shorter runs and lower fees. It is all about risk, and companies working with quite early career playwrights, designers and casts represent a higher degree of risk.”
I understand that not everything on a wish list can be changed at once. This is especially true against a background of difficult public finances. But a firm commitment to addressing these key areas can significantly improve the accessibility and quality of the arts in the UK. It can foster a more equitable and culturally richer society and improve the wellbeing of a country that sometimes feels on its knees, after years of financial hardships, a pandemic, and lights at the end of several tunnels that have just proven to be trains coming the other way.
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