Campaign for the Arts

The new Prime Minister is writing a "10-year plan" for the UK. @andyburnham, the arts and culture MUST be part of it.

We've launched an urgent petition to make sure the arts can play their part in revitalising the nation 🌱

Add your name ✏️ campaignforthearts.org/petitions/10-y…

Our full Budget analysis ⬇️

Very few of the Budget’s measures were aimed squarely at culture, but many will affect artists and cultural organisations and, in turn, everybody’s access to the arts.

“There are parts of this Budget that will help the arts, and which we welcome: changes to business rates that will benefit many cultural organisations; paid parental leave for self-employed workers; new local powers, such as visitor levies, which could benefit culture if they are used well; and £15m to put books into children’s hands through BookTrust and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

But the Budget did nothing to reverse the long-term, overall decline in public investment in culture, and the spending plans it leaves in place point to a further squeeze. Today the Chancellor said he wants to ‘reject crude cuts’ that ‘drive up costs elsewhere in the system’. He is right, and cuts to culture are a case in point: their costs are felt in people’s wellbeing, in the vibrancy of local communities and in our social fabric. We hope he will keep this in mind when setting plans for culture spending at next year’s Spending Review.

The government’s 10-year plan, due later this year, is a real opportunity to change course. Over 50,000 people have signed our petition asking for the arts to be part of it: available from childhood, accessible to all and thriving everywhere.

By revitalising the arts, we can revitalise the nation.”

Image credit:
📸 Carrie Davenport
💃 Fidget Feet performing at Earthchild 2026, presented by @artsekta
📍 Titanic Belfast

We're deeply concerned that the Shadow Culture Secretary appears to be arguing for an end to almost all public investment in arts & culture.

A cut of this magnitude would be unprecedented and catastrophic. We've requested a full explanation of the numbers and a serious rethink.

The Conservatives have pledged £1bn in cuts to DCMS to help pay for 50,000 new prison places. But when we checked the numbers, they didn't quite add up 🧮

Where would the money really come from? ⬇️ campaignforthearts.org/news/conservat…