The National Museum Directors’ Conference (NMDC) has reacted angrily to suggestions from a right-wing thinktank that the culture budget should be halved.
In an article in the Daily Telegraph, Neil O’Brien, director of Policy Exchange, asked whether anyone would notice if the culture budget was halved.
Mike Dixon, director of the Natural History Museum, replied on the NMDC’s behalf: “Would Mr O’Brien like to choose between closing the Natural History Museum or the National Gallery, between shutting the National Theatre or the Royal Shakespeare Company? I think people would notice a great deal.”
O’Brien said pressure on public spending meant spending on “nice to have” items had to stop, specifically mentioning the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) budget.
But a DCMS spokesman said spending on culture accounted for less than 1 per cent of government spending. The spokesman said nearly all of the grant-in-aid the DCMS receives from the Treasury was passed directly to the public bodies it funds.
“These organisations, such as the national museums, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, English Heritage and the arts council, help create a cultural life that is not only hugely popular with most of the public, but has an enormous economic impact,” he said.
The shadow culture team declined to comment.