Governance

Lucy Powell will become Labour’s new Shadow Secretary for DCMS following a cabinet reshuffle.

Manchester Central’s MP since 2012, Powell is a former Shadow Housing Secretary and was Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Secretary of State for Education, before resigning in June 2016.

Powell replaces Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens, who becomes Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.

She will become the second culture secretary under Keir Starmer and the eleventh since Labour lost power in 2010.
 
Powell described the role as a “big brief with many big issues” which included “making the arts, culture [and] music accessible”.

Museums should be brave, accountable and "aim for justice" in decolonising their practices and collections.

The Museums Association (MA) has released Supporting Decolonisation in Museums, offering ten guiding principles and advice on how to reach these objectives.

The association says statues and the names of buildings, streets, and galleries "send a clear message of whose presence is considered important and whose is not".

"Although this issue can cause controversy and debate in the media, it is an important part of decolonising work.

"Decolonising museums requires creating spaces that no longer celebrate historic and ongoing acts of colonial violence, whether through removing names, removing or recontextualizing statues, or commissioning artists to engage critically with this inheritance." 

The guidance was produced by MA’s Decolonisation Guidance Working Group, established following a 2019 report into the growing field.

Group Chair Rachael Minnot said working group members "challenged one another" throughout the process.

"I’m excited to keep learning and growing with the wider sector as they engage with this tool."

New "non partisan" advice aims to help museums and heritage organisations deal with proposals to change how history is interpreted and displayed. 

Written by broadcaster Trevor Phillips, the guide forms part of think tank Policy Exchange's History Matters project, which responds to “national concern about the growing trend to alter history and heritage without due process”.

The report advises any decision-making body must be clearly identified, with its composition and powers set out publicly. 

Changes must be lawful and consistent with the institution's stated aims and purpose. Changes to a public institution must be accountable to those who support it.

The guide has been formally endorsed by Museum of the Home Chair Samir Shah and V&A Chair Nicolas Coleridge.

Science Museum Director Ian Blatchford has also voiced support.

“[It's a] resoundingly reasonable guide to achieving change that it thoughtful and sustainable, rather than anxious and panicked”. 

Live entertainment is expected to fully reopen in Ireland next week despite concerns over rising Covid cases.

Capacity limits at indoor and outdoor events as well as social distancing are due to be relaxed on October 22, allowing nightclubs to reopen for the first time in over 18 months.

But Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has not ruled out the possibility of an extension: "The Delta wave swept across Europe, but you see countries in central Europe that are now yellow zones or green zones, and we’re still a red zone."

In contrast, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin believes nightclubs have been closed for "far too long".

Ireland's Institute of Public Health will meet next Monday (October 18) to advise the Government.

"We’ve got one of the highest rates of vaccination across the whole world and in Europe - I don’t know what more we as an industry can do," nightlife campaign group Give us the Night's Sunil Sharpe said.