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Articles
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Articles |
The Parties' Stance on the Arts: the ConservativesGovernment policy towards the arts, sports and broadcasting has stumbled from fiasco to disaster in the last four years. The Government wasted millions of pounds on bailing out the Dome, botched the development of Wembley stadium, dithered over the new UK Sports Institute, and supervised a bizarre competition to run the National Lottery only to end up handing it back to the existing firm. This incompetence has been accompanied by a disdain for British traditions and a modish contempt for our heritage. Labour even promoted a bogus new culture - 'Cool Britannia'- in an attempt to supplant the culture and identity which has shaped us. It's time for common sense. A Conservative Government will be optimistic about Britain's future because we are comfortable with Britain's past. The last Conservative Government transformed the funding of sport, the arts and our historic environment by creating the National Lottery. We ensured that money from this source was additional to Government spending, and administered independently. Labour have increasingly taken control of Lottery funds. The rules which govern applications for Lottery funds are excessively complex. We will reform them, so that they are more accessible to small community groups. We will set about freeing the arts from Government interference. Using the proceeds from the sale of Channel 4 and undistributed surpluses from the Lottery, we will create a £3 billion endowment fund for cultural organisations. This will dramatically extend freedom from State dependency and political control. Conservatives recognise the role of the arts in developing the creative skills which are essential to Britain's future prosperity. We will undertake a radical review of the Arts Council of England and the Regional Arts Boards. We want to create a less bureaucratic funding structure which delivers more for the arts and for artists. These are all extracts from the Conservative Party's election manifesto, 2001. The Conservative Party Articles Indices: |
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