More than a third of UK arts organisations consider Gordon Brown to be the political leader most in touch with the needs of the culture sector, new research has revealed.
The Labour prime minister has, with 36% of votes, come out on top in a survey designed to gauge the industry’s views on the upcoming general election, which revealed that only 3.8% of arts organisations regard Conservative leader David Cameron as the politician most likely to demonstrate an understanding of the issues facing the arts world.
Almost 12% see Nick Clegg as the leader most empathetic to the sector, while a quarter of respondents chose none of the leaders.
The findings, which have been revealed exclusively to The Stage, are to be published this week by think tank Arts Quarter.
The information is based on responses by 695 arts organisations - 35% of which were theatre and drama companies, 10% were dance groups, 10% were music organisations and 9% were multi-art form venues. The remaining respondents were museums and galleries and film, digital arts, and opera organisations.
The report said the results would make for “sober reading at Conservative Party head-quarters and provide possible comfort for Labour and the Liberal Democrats”.
It said that the cultural community feels its interests are “more likely to be protected by a Labour or Lib-Dem/Labour coalition in government than by the Conservatives holding a clear majority”.
However, according to the report, 36% of arts organisations believe that none of the main political parties has been clear about its manifesto pledges for the arts, while 20% said Labour was most explicit about its intentions, 13% saw clarity with the Conservatives and 8% chose the Liberal Democrats.
Organisations said they want parties to commit to retaining levels of statutory support at existing levels, further reform of Arts Council England to ensure maximum funding, and wider recognition and visibility of the creative industries as a growing business sector.
They also want to see tax reforms to encourage private sector philanthropy, which they believe will be needed in the future to plug potential funding shortfalls.
The survey also revealed that organisations are increasingly considering staff redundancies and delaying recruitment for vacant posts in light of potential government cuts after the election.
“It is clear that all three main parties have still yet to demonstrate clear support for the arts community or a fundamental appreciation for its role in UK society,” John Nicholls, managing partner of AQ, told The Stage.
“Concerns clearly remain high that a Conservative election win could see an administration in power with little or no affinity for the contribution that the arts make to our national and social prosperity and that we could witness a considerable shrinkage in our cultural offer at a time when investment in its future could support our continuing move out of recession.”
The research shows that 45% of respondents foresee a Conservative win at next month’s elections - although the vast majority predict it will be marginal - and 12% believe a marginal win for the Labour Party is possible, while 31.5% predict a hung parliament.
These numbers mark a significant shift from AQ’s survey in autumn 2009, which found that 81% of organisations thought that the Conservative Party would win by a majority, no respondents thought Labour would win and 4% thought a hung parliament would be a possible outcome.
For more on the major political parties’ manifesto pledges for the arts ahead of the general election, see page 5
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