
Free admission to national museums and galleries was a landmark Labour policy, coming into effect in 2001
Photo: Elena Zolotova/iStock
Making a difference in cultural policy
The Cultural Policy Unit is a new, independent think tank dedicated to formulating bold, imaginative and practical policy ideas in the service of the UK’s creative and cultural industries. Alison Cole is its director.
What gives us our edge as a nation? And what makes our lives immeasurably richer? Arts and culture – drama, dance, books, arts and craft, architecture and design, music and film – together with a rounded education that fosters an open, curious, playful and critical mindset are, in large part, the answer to both these questions.
Without these, where would we be? That is why the arts and humanities should matter to any government charged with steering our futures, and why an ambitious and impactful cultural policy agenda is crucial even in this challenging economic environment.
I have made a career in the arts – at EMI, Art Fund, Arts Council England, Southbank Centre and as editor of The Art Newspaper – made possible by my childhood experiences and my state schooling. I absorbed the arts, to use Alan Bennett’s words, “as if by osmosis”.
My parents, an artist/illustrator and a writer/TV producer, created memorable children’s characters, and I went on to become a writer and student of the Renaissance. Not everyone can grow up with Bod, Fingermouse and Piero Della Francesca, but access to a creative education should surely be everyone’s birthright.
The arts inspire and encourage new ways of thinking and feeling, but they can also be as rigorous as any other academic discipline, bringing together the skills that will be most in demand in the careers of the future. And, of course, they bring joy.
Transformational policy agenda
In the past, Labour governments fully grasped the potential for arts and culture to deliver hope, optimism and renewal. Post the Second World War, the Arts Council of Great Britain was established and, nearly 20 years later, Arts Minister Jennie Lee’s seminal 1965 White Paper, embedded the arts in state education and ensured equality of access and opportunity across the country.
In 1997, Labour unleashed the power of the creative industries, now one of our fastest growing sectors (generating £125 billion a year). Labour also introduced the landmark policy of free admission to our national museums and galleries. With the advent of this new Labour government, we hope to help develop and support similarly transformational policy agendas.
The Cultural Policy Unit succeeds the mini think tank I headed up last year, hosted by the Fabian Society, to help inform the policies and thinking of Labour’s then Shadow Culture team. Labour’s sector plan Creating Growth (March 2024) drew substantially on our proposals, as did its manifesto.
Two months after the election, we published our pamphlet Arts for Us All outlining our policy proposals in more detail, including recommendations on:
- Embedding arts and creativity in the curriculum – including visual literacy.
- A full financial review – beginning with a new review of Arts Council England (currently underway) legislating for a city charge, and a redrawing of the relationship with Europe.
- A new National Music Network (a manifesto pledge) as a step towards a fully-fledged National Music Education Service.
- A programme to take art to where people live (with the Government Art Collection helping lead the way) by changing loan conditions to make museum and gallery works more widely available across the country.
Building affiliations
Since the election, several of our proposals have gained significant traction. The new policy unit is building on these foundations providing, for example, a fleshed-out proposal for the introduction of a city charge on overnight tourist accommodation (something we are very used to paying in hotels abroad). This could generate more than £1 billion a year to fund cultural infrastructure and place-making and help drive Labour’s metro mayor agenda.
We are working with colleagues on a new deal for libraries which would once again put libraries at the heart of their communities as both cultural and tech hubs – and crucially boost lifelong engagement and reading for pleasure through the introduction of a universal library card for every child from birth. And we are also looking at a twinning scheme for schools and arts organisations across the country to provide children with both inspiration and mentors.
To facilitate our work, The Cultural Policy Unit will build affiliations with think tanks, organisations and individuals who can help develop and deliver the best proposals to support government, change-makers and legislators as well as be an asset to the arts, cultural and creative industry sectors.
Meaningful policy support
The unit is funded by philanthropic donations, with an advisory board chaired by Baroness Gail Rebuck. We are fortunate, therefore, that we can pursue an independent agenda without the need to fundraise.
In our first year, our three key areas of focus will be: helping to meaningfully deliver arts in the curriculum; exploring new financial and funding models that can support and sustain a healthy and vibrant cultural sector; and working to help safeguard creative content in the age of AI, while supporting the development of a dynamic and respectful partnership between tech and creative thinkers and artists.
The unit will continue its work for as long as it makes a difference. We are here to be useful to the arts sector, to provide meaningful policy support to decision-makers and to play a part in ensuring our country maintains its brilliant creative and competitive edge.
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