The Stage

Chit Chat - Culture clash

Published Monday 26 November 2007 at 16:35 by Tabard

Following last week’s fumbling of investment figures by incumbent culture secretary James Purnell and his department, Tabard seems to have detected some equally off-message behaviour from a member of his opposition.

Lib Dem shadow culture secretary Don Foster, speaking at the recent TMA winter conference, highlighted his admiration for a document just published by the Tories, entitled A New Landscape for the Arts, written by a team headed up by ex-Barbican supremo John Tusa.

Foster referred to the document as “interesting and I actually think rather excellent” and indeed quoted from it repeatedly in the speech he made.

In fact, he summed up his speech by saying: “At the end of the day, however, the most crucial message that should come out about this whole issue [speaking about government funding for the arts] is the one that is beautifully summed up in that Conservative document by John Tusa.

“I’m sorry to quote, as a Liberal Democrat, from a Conservative document, but he says that we should be removing the chains and that I think is the fundamental message that you’ve already heard… and I’d certainly like to echo.”

Tabard was a little confused then when we stumbled across a news release on the Lib Dems’ website, dated the day before Foster’s speech, which saw Foster’s number two Dan Rogerson attacking the Tory proposals.

Rogerson complained: “These plans are unaccompanied by any suggestion of how they would be funded. How do the Tories plan to pay for a new department, exponentially increased funding of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, further roll-out of Renaissance in the Regions and a raft of tax changes?

“People won’t easily forget that it was the Conservatives that recently questioned free admissions to museums and neglected the heritage sector while in government. While the report may contain some worthwhile proposals, no doubt the arts and heritage sector will remain suspicious it is more about gaining publicity than a genuine commitment to invest in the cultural life of Britain.”

An oft-quoted phrase about right hands and left hands springs to mind.

Or perhaps another, which was also quoted by Foster in the speech in which he praised the Tory document - “Politicians should be changed as regularly as nappies. For exactly the same reason.”