Shadow Culture Secretary, Ivan Lewis warns that cuts to the arts are too fast and too deep

Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Ivan Lewis accuses the Coalition Government of playing fast and loose with Britain’s future and warns of the danger of a lost generation.

Ivan Lewis says the scale of the Coalition’s cuts announced to school sports and the arts will undermine economic growth and threaten to reverse the historic advances achieved over the past decade.

Ivan Lewis stated: “Dismantling support for school sport and imposing disproportionate cuts on arts organisations runs the risk of creating a lost generation of young people. Through the scale and speed of these cuts the Coalition Government is playing fast and loose with Britain’s economic and sporting future.”

On cuts to the arts

Ivan Lewis said: “These disproportionate cuts are bad news for our economy and bad news for our society. Over the past decade Britain has become a world leader in the creative industries with Government investment stimulating jobs and private sector growth. Cuts without a strategy for maintaining the excellence of some of the most dynamic sectors in our economy is ill-conceived and shows that the Government has no plan for growth or jobs. With this level of cuts, and the pressure on local authority budgets, museums, galleries and community projects across the country will fear for their future. World class arts and heritage projects attract tourists, celebrate the best of Britain and play an important role in determining the character of our country. The scale of these cuts is unfair and damages a sector which should play a key part in our economic recovery.”

On cuts to school sport

Ivan Lewis said: “At a time when we are preparing to host the Olympics, bidding for the World Cup and fighting an obesity crisis, this dismantling of support for school sport is perverse and short-sighted. Parents and young people will feel badly let down by the scale of cuts which threaten to reverse the historic progress over the past decade in levels of participation, including the resurgence of competitive sport. It will hit disadvantaged young people the hardest and makes a mockery of our commitment to deliver an Olympic legacy.”