Conservatives announce plans to support the arts

Shadow Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt and Shadow Arts Minister, Ed Vaizey have today set out far-reaching proposals to rejuvenate the arts under a Conservative Government.         

"The Future of the Arts with a Conservative Government" sets out plans for how to provide coherent and sustained support for the arts.

The Conservative approach is to:

• Secure, long-term funding for the arts, based on the mixed economy and the arm’s length principle which ensures they have the resources to carry them through the good times and the bad.
• The promotion of excellence in the arts through greater trust and independence for our arts organisations.
• Use technology and a more coherent approach to arts funding in schools to enable access – we believe as many people as possible should enjoy the arts in all their varied forms in this country.

"Under Labour the arts have not been given the priority they deserve", Vaizey said. "The arts need coherent and sustained support in order to consolidate and build on their achievements".

He added that the Conservatives are "passionate about the arts" and that if they form the next Government he would "look forward to working with the sector to create funding stability and promote excellence and access".

You can read "The Future of the Arts" in the document viewer below, or alternatively click here to download a copy in PDF format.