When it comes to art, music, film and TV, Britain is brilliant.
We’re one of the biggest music exporters in the world, our creative industries are growing four times faster than the rest of the economy, and people come from all over the world to be part of our arts and cultural scene.
Yet too many kids in our own country have been locked out of this great British success story.
It’s not just pop that’s getting posher. Only 8% of people working in TV are working class.
The Baftas are dominated by actors who went to private school, and it is hard to see how brilliant working-class actors, like Sir Ian McKellen, who hails from near my town of Wigan, would make it these days. I am on a mission to change this.
We are now calling time on decades of cultural vandalism. In their 14 years in charge, the Tories virtually erased arts and culture from classrooms and our local communities.
They downgraded arts education in state schools, so while private schools continue to offer excellence in that area, the numbers of children taking arts GCSEs in state schools fell by 40%.
By the time the Tories left office, in some parts of the North not a single school was able to offer the opportunity to do music GCSE or A-level. The Conservatives’ message to children was clear: arts and culture are only for those whose parents can pay.
My message is the opposite. We have already started, by putting art, music, dance and drama back in every classroom and back at the heart of the curriculum.
I am launching the Every Child Can programme to help children find their spark, and rebuild access to arts and music in the community.
We’re building music studios in libraries and supporting a levy on concert tickets to support grassroots music venues. Our new £500million programme Youth Matters is restoring youth clubs and services across the country so young people can pursue their passion wherever they live.
I am tired of being told that not everybody can or should have access to the best of what this country has to offer. We’ve worked with the British Museum to bring the Bayeux Tapestry back to British shores for the first time in 1,000 years, and open up free access to it for children across the country.
We launched the £1.5billion Arts Everywhere programme to fund 1,000 neglected arts and cultural venues across England, and we’re working with the National Film and Television School and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight to fund creative careers from Beaconsfield to Birmingham.
At every step we have met resistance from those who believe arts and culture belongs only to certain types of people, in certain postcodes. They think that the Culture Secretary has no business taking excellent arts and culture into every community and every classroom.
They are wrong. Arts and culture gives the chance to live a richer, larger life. That belongs to all of us, and this is a fight from which we will not back down.
Culture towns pride of place
We have seen what the City of Culture title can do for places across the country. When Liverpool was European Capital of Culture in 2008 it was a catalyst that helped transform the city. So why shouldn’t towns also have their cultural offering championed and celebrated?
That’s why last October, alongside the Liverpool cultural legend Sir Phil Redmond, I launched the UK Town of Culture competition.
We saw an incredible 400 places throw their hat into the ring, showcasing their unique cultural identity. Any would have been worthy winners. We’re now down to the final 15 vying for the title, and we’ll announce who has won early next year.
I’ll drive forward crucial work on online safety
I’m delighted to be leading the new Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, as we bring together the creativity of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport with the technical brilliance of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to do something genuinely different in government.
For too long, the things that make life worth living, such as opportunities to access art, grassroots sport, culture, the creative industries, supportive youth services – have felt out of reach for too many people in too many places. Changing that is what drives me every day.
Now we’re combining that with the digital connections that bring us together. Telecoms and technology are the infrastructure of modern life. Having the right protections and support in place for the online world will also be critical too, and I will drive forward the crucial work on online safety.
Together, this makes for a magic combination: one department, at the heart of government, able to change lives, in places too often overlooked.
Infantino – football wihout the fans is nothing
Last month, Gianni Infantino announced his intention to sell off stakes in the World Cup – a plan that would see huge chunks of our game sold off to billionaire investors.
Thankfully the plan won’t come to fruition because of the principled stances taken by Fifa members across the globe, with our own FA threatening to boycott the tournament entirely.
It is a reminder of the importance of protecting our game and keeping fans at the heart of it.
That’s why I fought so hard to create the Independent Football Regulator, which will mean domestic clubs are legally bound to involve their fans in a meaningful way in decision-making, the heritage of clubs will be protected, and anyone who buys your club will have to prove their suitability.
I know through our own battles to keep Wigan Athletic afloat just how vital football is. Our mantra is simple – football belongs to the fans.
Grassroots music venues have been under threat
Our grassroots music venues are brilliant. They make a huge contribution to our communities and to our culture, where future headliners make their first steps on stage, where local talent unite the audience and people discover their love of live music for the first time.
For a really long time they’ve been under threat. A lack of support from the Conservative government as well as adapting to the impact of Covid has made it difficult for them to keep their doors open.
That’s why the Prime Minister’s decision to cut business rates for these venues was exactly the right thing to do to give them the breathing space they need to keep doing what they do best.
It’s an investment in the next generation of artists, technicians, promoters and producers, protecting the places where grassroots music thrives and homegrown talent flourishes in all parts of the country.
Opening of No10 North start of the next chapter
It’s been a privilege to work out of No10 North this week. I remember many years ago being asked if I was moving the Party left or right – my answer was, I’m moving it North!
Decision-making power should not be limited to one area of the country. That’s something I’ve been championing for many years.
We have been delivering the biggest transfer of powers to local leaders in a generation, and now the opening of No10 North is the start of the next chapter of putting power back in the hands of our communities all around the country.