Arts Council England is focused on investment outside London | Letter
In response to recent letters (26 April) about the Arts Everywhere Fund, it is important to note that this programme was heavily oversubscribed, reflecting the acute need for capital investment across the cultural sector.We are pleased that there will be further rounds of the fund, with details to be published in the coming months.While we are always mindful of the geographic spread of the investment we make, this fund had a clear purpose: to prioritise organisations facing critical capital need.On that basis, the north received more than £40m – approximately 31% of the £128m awarded in total – supporting 45 museums, libraries and cultural organisations, the highest number of awards made to any area.Arts Council England recognises the historic imbalance in cultural funding and has been working to invest more outside London, increasing investment beyond the capital to approximately 70% of our total investment since 2022.
Barrow‑in‑Furness, cited in recent correspondence, is one of our priority places, where we are investing in local cultural infrastructure, including through organisations such as Full of Noises, one of the recent recipients of Arts Everywhere funding.We will continue to work to bring cultural excellence, opportunity and investment to more places and more people.Nicholas SerotaChair, Arts Council England Christine Baranski’s critique of Liverpool as a victim of arts funding cuts feels a bit harsh (Letters, 26 April).The reason Tate Liverpool is closed is because of a costly redevelopment, and meanwhile it retains a gallery hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects nearby on Mann Island – a good example of a London-based organisation expanding its influence.Preparations are well advanced for a bigger and better slavery museum, with National Museums Liverpool (NML) being directly grant-aided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport rather than having to fight for a share of regional funding.
What Liverpool currently lacks is a vocal advocate after the style of Michael Heseltine, whose interventions in the early 1980s kickstarted the revival of the city region as a massive cultural asset.And to draw on local knowledge – having grown up in Silverdale, next door to Baranski’s village of Arnside – I would dispute the description of Kirkby Lonsdale as “once vibrant”.Indeed, it recently revived its annual book fair, asserting its status as a magnet for bookworms.John EdmondsonFormer employee of NML and exhibitor at Kirkby Lonsdale book fair, Holywell, Flintshire Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Reform and Plaid Cymru likely to benefit from polarisation of Welsh politics
On a sunny but cold evening in a shopping centre car park on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil, Reform UK supporters enjoyed free pizza and loud music as they waited for what the party leader, Nigel Farage, said was his last big speech before Thursday’s Welsh Senedd, Scottish parliament and English local elections.Reform could win the most seats under Wales’s new more proportional voting system but it is unlikely to be able to form a government, as other parties have ruled out going into coalition with it. Yet Farage’s outfit is the first rightwing party with a shot at winning in Wales since the 1850s. The surge in support for a party that got 1% of the vote in the last Senedd election is impossible to ignore.“A coalition of losers blocking the biggest party [Reform] will backfire, if that’s what happens,” the party’s Welsh leader, Dan Thomas, told the Guardian
Zack Polanski says he was wrong to call himself a Red Cross spokesperson
Zack Polanski has said he was wrong to describe himself as a British Red Cross spokesperson, and that intensified media scrutiny of the Green party reflected fears of its rising popularity and support for wealth taxes.Polanski described himself as a British Red Cross spokesperson while campaigning for the party leadership, the Times revealed. The claim was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020 when he said he was “really proud of the work we do”.The British Red Cross said Polanski had not been a spokesperson for the charity, and that it had raised the issue with the Greens.Polanski also hit back at what he characterised as politically motivated attacks on his party, accusing rightwing media owners with wealthy interests of fearing the party’s growing support
Mapped: the elections that could deliver ‘unprecedented’ losses for Labour
Labour is on track for its worst local election performance next Thursday, data analysed by the Guardian shows, in a blow that will pile further pressure on Keir Starmer’s leadership.Barring a drastic change in fortunes, Labour’s vote-share could fall to historic lows across elections for councils in England and devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland on 7 May, with big gains for Reform, the Greens and nationalist parties, according to recent polling.The collapse in support is particularly existential in the race for the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, which Labour has dominated since its creation in 1999.Polling shows Labour’s vote share falling by more than half in Wales, enough to push the party into third place, with Reform and Plaid Cymru vying for first.Labour’s long-term decline in Scotland is expected to continue, with the Scottish National party likely to remain in power in Holyrood and Reform headed for second place
Apps, activists and an ‘air war’: Essex campaign is test of Reform UK’s professionalisation
Nigel Farage was midway through his walkabout of Waltham Abbey when a hunting horn loudly sounded on the Essex market town’s pedestrianised high street. “Oi oiii!” exclaimed the owner of Ouch Tattoos, Rob Chillingworth, putting down the instrument and reaching out a welcoming hand to the approaching Reform UK leader.For Farage, this was the latest stop in a midweek tour of half a dozen towns in Essex, where more than 1m county council votes are up for grabs. Barring breakthroughs in Wales and Scotland, going from having a single councillor here to taking power would be one of Reform’s biggest achievements in Thursday’s polls.While encounters such as the one between Chillingworth and Farage reflect warmth towards Reform among many here, the campaign in Essex is also a demonstration and a test of Reform’s self-professed professionalisation when it comes to ensuring the party gets its vote out more broadly
May elections: What’s at stake across England, Wales and Scotland?
The Scottish, Welsh, and local English elections on Thursday 7 May are a huge test for all the main political parties – and may be existential for Keir Starmer as prime minister and Labour leader.The elections, two years into a Labour government, will see more than 30 million people across England, Wales and Scotland vote in the devolved administrations, in six mayoral races, and for more than 4,500 councillors in city and county councils.Polls predict a dire night for Labour, which is defending the majority of the councils. The party could face losses of more than 1,800 councillors, which would be almost three-quarters of the seats being defended. Significant losses are also expected for the Conservative party
Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be British Red Cross spokesperson, charity says
Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be a spokesperson for the British Red Cross while campaigning for the Green party leadership, the charity has said.The claim was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020, where he said he was “really proud of the work we do”.The British Red Cross told the Times that Polanski “has not been a spokesperson” for the charity, and said it had raised the issue with the Greens.Polanski posted several examples on X of him hosting fundraisers for the organisation. “I’ve always admired the work of the British Red Cross
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