Labour has “delivered a cultural and artistic renaissance”, according to Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw in his speech to the Labour Party Conference in Brighton, and the government considers the arts and culture “a common good for all”. He committed Labour to guaranteeing five hours a week of “cultural, music and artistic activity” for all children as well as five hours of “quality sport”. He said that under a Conservative government, “millions of people, particularly young people, whose lives are being transformed by culture and sport” would lose out. He hit out at local authorities which are cutting support for culture, and accused the Tories of advocating charging for museums and galleries – a charge strenuously denied by London Mayor Boris Johnson in a later statement. Bradshaw also strongly supported the BBC against the recent attack from James Murdoch in his MacTaggart Lecture at the 2009 Edinburgh International Television Festival.
