Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have gambled their reputations and the country’s future are on a single horse: Growth.
Having stumbled through the first six months in office, the Labour government has belatedly learned that it is important to talk a good game but will soon be expected to deliver, especially by shivering pensioners and those struggling to overcome continuing inflationary pressures.
The last week has provided some striking contrasts, especially for those with an interest in the future of the creative arts. On the plus side, Ms Reeves delivered a keynote speech on her favourite subject, promising to spend big on capital projects including a third runway at Heathrow Airport, better communications between Oxford and Cambridge and developments around Old Trafford. Is it too much to hope that along the way some funds will be siphoned into the arts?
On the other side of the equation, there were several grim stories suggesting that growth is unlikely to be forthcoming in our sector in the foreseeable future. The Theatres Trust published its latest list of 43 theatres across the United Kingdom “at risk” i.e. threatened with closure in the relatively short term. Several of the newest entries are victims of the RAAC scandal, although far too few seem to be regarding it as a scandal so far.
The problems are hardly on the scale of the dodgy cladding that killed so many people at Grenfell Tower and threatens to do so elsewhere, but buildings with unsafe roofs are hardly ideal. To be fair, even those in the artistic community might accept that hospitals and schools need more urgent attention than theatres.
The upshot is that many small but much-loved local theatres that have strong histories are likely to close or remain closed forever. This is not only bad news for those who have lost their jobs in the buildings but also the wider community and economy.
At the very least, to the extent that there are new building projects in the vicinity, it would be nice to think that the local bigwigs might insist on the inclusion of replacements for lost theatres. Ironically, there are new theatres popping up, but they seem to be limited to areas where there is already great choice, primarily in London and other major cities.
While the costs of restoring theatres might sound high, as a long-term investment, many will undoubtedly yield as much benefit on a pound-for-pound basis as some of the widely touted projects mentioned in Rachel Reeves’s speech.
It is unlikely that anyone reading this column will remember the days when the British Empire was Great. Instead, we have witnessed a gradual diminution in global power that is likely to receive an additional kick in the teeth with the election of a new, insular American president.
Two manifestations of former British greatness are currently under serious threat. It was sad to read the announcement by its chief executive Scott McDonald that the British Council could disappear within the next decade.
The Council might originally have been an institution of empire, but it continues to punch way beyond its weight today, spreading the gospel of British artistic and creative endeavour around the world and quietly, almost invisibly in fact, generates significant exports both directly and indirectly. Amongst other projects, it has long supported theatre companies looking to spread their wings and the gospel of British theatre.
The BBC World Service has a similar mission and is also about to be subject to yet another set of cuts, as the corporation seeks to operate within ever-diminishing budgets.
Rachel Reeves trained as an economist and very reasonably sees the bigger picture, which demands growth. It is time that somebody suggested to her that while many of the projects that she proposes could bring benefits in the long term, so would relatively modest investments in the arts, and the pay-offs will often be much sooner.
Indeed, it wouldn’t be that difficult to boost the sector at zero cost. This would merely require restoring closer ties with the European Union, for example entering the proposed scheme to allow exchange visas for those under 30, along with negotiating a deal to remove barriers that now prevent British artistes from touring in Europe and their peers on the continent from travelling in the other direction.