This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2013/feb/11/harriet-harman-arts-funding-newcastle

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Harriet Harman: 'We get the arts' Harriet Harman: 'We get the arts'
(7 months later)
The past weeks have not looked good for Labour's position on arts and culture. Brewing since late last year has been the unpleasant prospect of a major Labour council – Newcastle – cutting its arts budget by 100%, halving its grants to its museums, and reducing its library service by 60%. The proposals, public consultation on which ended earlier this month, were greeted by a chorus of disapproval by both citizens of Newcastle and prominent artists, notably Lee Hall, writer of Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters.The past weeks have not looked good for Labour's position on arts and culture. Brewing since late last year has been the unpleasant prospect of a major Labour council – Newcastle – cutting its arts budget by 100%, halving its grants to its museums, and reducing its library service by 60%. The proposals, public consultation on which ended earlier this month, were greeted by a chorus of disapproval by both citizens of Newcastle and prominent artists, notably Lee Hall, writer of Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters.
A recent visit to the city by shadow culture minister Dan Jarvis did nothing to assuage fears: he publicly backed the council leader, Nick Forbes, telling me he had spent "hours if not days" going through the city's draft budget; and that, in announcing a total cut to the arts, Forbes was merely "being open and transparent about the consequences of the austerity measures imposed by the government". His position prompted a bewildered response from Hall, who wrote to Jarvis saying, "if as the shadow culture minister you cannot robustly and publicly defend the right of working-class and disadvantaged people to have access to libraries and culture, I do not understand what you are doing holding that brief".A recent visit to the city by shadow culture minister Dan Jarvis did nothing to assuage fears: he publicly backed the council leader, Nick Forbes, telling me he had spent "hours if not days" going through the city's draft budget; and that, in announcing a total cut to the arts, Forbes was merely "being open and transparent about the consequences of the austerity measures imposed by the government". His position prompted a bewildered response from Hall, who wrote to Jarvis saying, "if as the shadow culture minister you cannot robustly and publicly defend the right of working-class and disadvantaged people to have access to libraries and culture, I do not understand what you are doing holding that brief".
It has been a mess, which Labour is now attempting hurriedly to tidy away. Harriet Harman, the shadow culture secretary (and also shadow deputy leader, prompting some to question whether she has the time to focus on culture), has now intervened in the crisis, persuading Forbes not to set a damaging precedent. "The reality is there is not going to be a 100% cut to the arts in Newcastle," she says when we meet in her office in Westminster. "Across the board, they will be supporting the arts." She adds: "I can't give you the nitty-gritty: it's a bleaker picture than it has been – that's inevitable because of what the government's doing. But they will not be cutting 100%."It has been a mess, which Labour is now attempting hurriedly to tidy away. Harriet Harman, the shadow culture secretary (and also shadow deputy leader, prompting some to question whether she has the time to focus on culture), has now intervened in the crisis, persuading Forbes not to set a damaging precedent. "The reality is there is not going to be a 100% cut to the arts in Newcastle," she says when we meet in her office in Westminster. "Across the board, they will be supporting the arts." She adds: "I can't give you the nitty-gritty: it's a bleaker picture than it has been – that's inevitable because of what the government's doing. But they will not be cutting 100%."
The devil will be in the detail: whether the reprieve for the arts in Newcastle is substantive or not, and whether it will also embrace a less draconian approach to museums and libraries, is yet to be seen. Newcastle's budget papers are due on Friday afternoon, and a spokesman for the council declined to comment. But it's still an important step: a dangerous precedent, it seems, will not be set by one of England's most important councils. And no other Labour councils will cut arts 100%? "No," says Harman, after a tiny beat. What was Jarvis thinking of? "It is a very anxious time for everyone because the threat from government is so great – we are working with local councils for a survival strategy and Dan is very committed to that," she answers blandly. "We all are."The devil will be in the detail: whether the reprieve for the arts in Newcastle is substantive or not, and whether it will also embrace a less draconian approach to museums and libraries, is yet to be seen. Newcastle's budget papers are due on Friday afternoon, and a spokesman for the council declined to comment. But it's still an important step: a dangerous precedent, it seems, will not be set by one of England's most important councils. And no other Labour councils will cut arts 100%? "No," says Harman, after a tiny beat. What was Jarvis thinking of? "It is a very anxious time for everyone because the threat from government is so great – we are working with local councils for a survival strategy and Dan is very committed to that," she answers blandly. "We all are."
It is perhaps a good time for Labour to reinvigorate its commitment to the arts; and Harman's attention seems finally to have turned to culture. Today, she will make a keynote speech at an arts summit at Soho theatre, London. The arts, she says, are part of Labour's growth plan. Her position in Labour as a politician of experience and clout means she can influence her cabinet colleagues, she claims – historically a problem for culture secretaries, who can be low in the cabinet pecking order. On shadow chancellor Ed Balls, who does not, at least publicly, appear to be especially sympathetic to the arts, she says: "He is definitely not a one-dimensional numbers person. Anyone who's heard his karaoke-ing …" She trails off, leaving a delicious subject hanging. "They do get it. Stephen [Twigg] does, Chuka [Umunna] does, Ed does, too," she says, referring to the shadow education and business secretaries. "I am in a good position to bring my cabinet colleagues together to help them develop this one-nation arts policy, and that's against the background of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport now seeming smaller and smaller around the cabinet table. I am in a good position to be able to be an advocate for the arts because of being deputy leader."It is perhaps a good time for Labour to reinvigorate its commitment to the arts; and Harman's attention seems finally to have turned to culture. Today, she will make a keynote speech at an arts summit at Soho theatre, London. The arts, she says, are part of Labour's growth plan. Her position in Labour as a politician of experience and clout means she can influence her cabinet colleagues, she claims – historically a problem for culture secretaries, who can be low in the cabinet pecking order. On shadow chancellor Ed Balls, who does not, at least publicly, appear to be especially sympathetic to the arts, she says: "He is definitely not a one-dimensional numbers person. Anyone who's heard his karaoke-ing …" She trails off, leaving a delicious subject hanging. "They do get it. Stephen [Twigg] does, Chuka [Umunna] does, Ed does, too," she says, referring to the shadow education and business secretaries. "I am in a good position to bring my cabinet colleagues together to help them develop this one-nation arts policy, and that's against the background of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport now seeming smaller and smaller around the cabinet table. I am in a good position to be able to be an advocate for the arts because of being deputy leader."
Harman acknowledges that although Labour, when last in power, provided generous financial support to the arts, they were not always good at talking about it in public. After the scorn poured on the notion of "luvvies for the arts" in the runup to the 1997 election, Labour politicians fought shy of speaking up about the arts, or even looking particularly cultured. Famously, Tony Blair made his one and only arts speech months before he stepped down as PM. Harman says: "I would agree that, to an extent, good was done by stealth – which is why it is such an important task to remake the argument. We do need to have a much greater way of writing the arts and culture into the future of Britain in the way the Olympic ceremony did." That hesitation in acknowledging what was being done in the arts made it all the easier, she says, for the coalition to make cuts: "It has been easier for them to chop something that for most people has been invisible."Harman acknowledges that although Labour, when last in power, provided generous financial support to the arts, they were not always good at talking about it in public. After the scorn poured on the notion of "luvvies for the arts" in the runup to the 1997 election, Labour politicians fought shy of speaking up about the arts, or even looking particularly cultured. Famously, Tony Blair made his one and only arts speech months before he stepped down as PM. Harman says: "I would agree that, to an extent, good was done by stealth – which is why it is such an important task to remake the argument. We do need to have a much greater way of writing the arts and culture into the future of Britain in the way the Olympic ceremony did." That hesitation in acknowledging what was being done in the arts made it all the easier, she says, for the coalition to make cuts: "It has been easier for them to chop something that for most people has been invisible."
Connected to this observation is the notion that the idea of subsidy – taxpayers' money going into the arts – should be celebrated, she says. "If you go to the theatre or a gallery and see the list of benefactors, the biggest benefactor is the taxpayer, and that should be at the top and celebrated and acknowledged. But actually, you are lucky if you see a microscopic Arts Council England logo."Connected to this observation is the notion that the idea of subsidy – taxpayers' money going into the arts – should be celebrated, she says. "If you go to the theatre or a gallery and see the list of benefactors, the biggest benefactor is the taxpayer, and that should be at the top and celebrated and acknowledged. But actually, you are lucky if you see a microscopic Arts Council England logo."
There is a need, she says, to "be confident and assertive about the role of subsidy. You sometimes get the impression in other European countries that they feel more at ease with the idea of subsidy, that it's not a sign of weakness that the arts and creative industries are subsidised – it's a powerful message of confidence in them from public policy. And we are talking about subsidy not investment, because investment implies some kind of immediate calculable return – whereas it's really a much longer, deeper process. So we need to remake the arguments. And the fact is that the arts have repaid the confidence in them over those years a hundredfold." At this point her phone pings – and, perhaps emboldened by her own rhetoric, she jokes: "They are asking me to be Pope!" (News of his resignation has just broken.)There is a need, she says, to "be confident and assertive about the role of subsidy. You sometimes get the impression in other European countries that they feel more at ease with the idea of subsidy, that it's not a sign of weakness that the arts and creative industries are subsidised – it's a powerful message of confidence in them from public policy. And we are talking about subsidy not investment, because investment implies some kind of immediate calculable return – whereas it's really a much longer, deeper process. So we need to remake the arguments. And the fact is that the arts have repaid the confidence in them over those years a hundredfold." At this point her phone pings – and, perhaps emboldened by her own rhetoric, she jokes: "They are asking me to be Pope!" (News of his resignation has just broken.)
It is traditional to quiz any shadow or culture secretary about their own cultural life: Harman has clearly been looking forward to this bit, since she has plenty to show off. Not for her a Maria Miller-style gaffe (the culture secretary recently confused the New Vic theatre in Stoke, which she clearly had not visited, with the Young Vic near the Houses of Parliament, which she had). Harman gleefully ticks off the plays she has seen in the past few weeks (Othello at the Bussey Building in her south London constituency, and The Magistrate at the National); the films (Lincoln and Les Mis – "we are blessed with the wonderful Ritzy cinema in Brixton"); and the books she's read (she loved Richard Ford's Canada and thought reviews of JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy were "grudging and ungenerous").It is traditional to quiz any shadow or culture secretary about their own cultural life: Harman has clearly been looking forward to this bit, since she has plenty to show off. Not for her a Maria Miller-style gaffe (the culture secretary recently confused the New Vic theatre in Stoke, which she clearly had not visited, with the Young Vic near the Houses of Parliament, which she had). Harman gleefully ticks off the plays she has seen in the past few weeks (Othello at the Bussey Building in her south London constituency, and The Magistrate at the National); the films (Lincoln and Les Mis – "we are blessed with the wonderful Ritzy cinema in Brixton"); and the books she's read (she loved Richard Ford's Canada and thought reviews of JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy were "grudging and ungenerous").
She was less enamoured of Deborah Levy's Man Booker-nominated Swimming Home ("I hate to be mean because I know you put yourself out there if you are an artist, but I don't think it told me anything about the world"). Her daughter Amy is the joint principal bassoonist in the Philharmonia, and she waxes lyrical about the orchestra's new app, which matches music with commentary by players and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. She's clearly, in fact, the most personally cultured shadow or culture secretary since James Purnell. It remains to be seen whether she can persuade her colleagues to share her enthusiasms publicly, passionately – and in policy.She was less enamoured of Deborah Levy's Man Booker-nominated Swimming Home ("I hate to be mean because I know you put yourself out there if you are an artist, but I don't think it told me anything about the world"). Her daughter Amy is the joint principal bassoonist in the Philharmonia, and she waxes lyrical about the orchestra's new app, which matches music with commentary by players and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. She's clearly, in fact, the most personally cultured shadow or culture secretary since James Purnell. It remains to be seen whether she can persuade her colleagues to share her enthusiasms publicly, passionately – and in policy.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.