Why is Arts Council England clamping down on political statements?

Good morning.

Last week, Arts Council England (ACE), the main funding body for arts and culture, announced updates to its guidelines. ACE told organisations that “overtly political or activist” statements made in personal capacities by artists it works with could lead to the withdrawal of funding. The news was met with fury and outrage, as artists accused ACE of censorship. The poet Anthony Anaxagorou said: “We better all just shut up, make art that’s as interesting as a sack of porridge and hope nobody asks us any questions about our politics, principles or convictions.”

Staggered by the level of anger, ACE insisted that the whole thing was a miscommunication and that it would be updating the language of the new guidelines imminently. Laura Dyer, the deputy chief executive of ACE, said that the council still believed “in the freedom of expression of all artists”.

But this is far from an isolated incident, with ACE (and other cultural institutions) facing heavy criticism for decisions made while operating on shoestring budgets. As the government has grown increasingly dogmatic about culture war issues, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has been little more than a jumping off point for the careers of cabinet ministers, the arts sector has been left to flounder for over a decade.

For today’s newsletter, I spoke with Guardian arts and culture correspondent Lanre Bakare about what this saga tells us about the state of the culture sector in England. That’s right after the headlines.

Five big stories

In depth: ‘It was never going to be accepted’

Arts Council England tried to make its new guidance seem innocuous, stating that it was merely a refresh of their framework on managing reputational risks. That is not how it was taken by those who work in the arts and culture sector. “It is baffling to think that senior people at an arts organisation would think this was something that was ever going to fly – it was never going to be accepted,” Lanre says.

Why did ACE take such a hardline stance?

Artists and critics alike have been wondering what led ACE to take such a hardline stance. For now, there is no clear answer. But the controversy around the guidance is the latest episode in a longer saga about the increasing politicisation of ACE in recent years.

ACE is supposed to be one of 295 “arms-length bodies” – organisations that are publicly funded but independent from the government interference. However, in recent years, the government has tested the arms-length policy: in 2021, for instance, the culture secretary of the time, Oliver Dowden, wrote a letter stating that public bodies should align with the government on its stance on issues “of contested heritage”, referring specifically to the removal of statues and other memorials by protesters.

And recently the government objected to a £15,000 grant under the Music Export Growth Scheme going to the Belfast rap trio Kneecap – a spokesperson for the UK business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said the government did not want to hand taxpayers’ money “to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself”. The group is taking the government to court. The row with Kneecap has nothing to do with ACE, but it is emblematic of the increasingly interventionist stance the government is taking with publicly funded parts of the arts sector. The pressure from Westminster has been compounded by the news that the government will be conducting a full-scale review of ACE that will determine whether it should continue to operate in its current form.

Diminished trust

Artists viewed the guidelines as a “massive overreach”, Lanre says, especially given the heightened political context. Some are seeing it as pre-emptive damage control, as other organisations pull events on controversial topics. Earlier this month Lanre reported on the Barbican Centre in London cancelling a talk with the writer Pankaj Mishra about Gaza. “It was under the auspices of the London Review of Books, which is part of the cultural establishment. But it was still pulled,” he says. The Barbican said the LRB advertised the event too soon, meaning it did not have time to “do the careful preparation needed for this sensitive content” but Mishra said the decision was part of a “pervasive sense of fear and panic” that is closing down debate on the issue within cultural spaces. ACE’s guidance was viewed by some to be exacerbating the issue and passing judgment on what kind of political statements would cause problems. “It could have a long-term impact on whether artists feel they can trust the organisation. I think that’s where the damage might be done,” he adds.

The wider picture

Since 2010, funding for the arts, like every other publicly funded sector, has dramatically declined. During the years of the coalition government, the overall budget for the DCMS was reduced by a quarter; ACE’s budget has shrunk by about 30% in the last 13 years. And what this looks like is a less vibrant and dynamic culture sector in parts of the country that really need it.

With money from local councils dwindling too, the various planks of funding for the arts have slowly dried up, making Arts Council funding even more important. The impact on the most deprived communities has already been noted: a 2022 study found that the proportion of working-class actors, musicians and writers shrunk by half since the 1970s. “Once you remove the grassroots, organic ways that people get access to the arts, fewer people from working-class backgrounds will enter the field,” Lanre adds.

And it’s not just about the cash: the role of culture secretary has been diminished. “It’s become a place where politicians create headlines over culture war issues and then wander off somewhere else,” Lanre says. If you think we have had too many prime ministers, then you should look at the DCMS, where there have been 12 culture secretaries since the Conservatives came to power. None have quite managed to beat Liz Truss’s record six weeks in power, but the revolving door has meant there has been no coherent policy for over a decade.

“A lot of it stems from this ideological view of what the arts are for,” Lanre says. “At one point they were seen as an important and necessary part of our lives – a nourishment that enriches society.” That no longer seems to be the case.

What else we’ve been reading

• Pjotr Sauer takes a look at what the sudden death of Alexei Navalny tells us about Vladimir Putin’s next moves: “After his killing, many fear for what is to come,” Sauer writes. Nimo

• Marina Hyde had the final word on a terrible week for Rishi Sunak: “Precisely how many tax cut promises does it take to repel a grid of shit?” Toby Moses, head of newsletters

• Michael Segalov spoke to the controllers who keep Britain running. Nimo

• Ben Weiss is fascinating on AI porn and the question of whether it can ever truly be ethical. Toby

• ICYMI: 25-year-old Palestinian Motaz Azaiza was evacuated from Gaza two weeks ago. His unedited photos and videos of the devastating impact of the war has earned him a large online following. He sat down with Thaslima Begum to share his experience. Nimo

Sport

Swimming | Great Britain’s Freya Colbert claimed gold in the women’s 400m medley on the closing day of the World Aquatics Championships in Doha. Colbert won the race in 4 minutes, 37.14 seconds. At 4:37.36, Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko won silver, but was jeered by some of the crowd during her interview. The presence of Israeli swimmers in the championships has been criticised by some protesters in Qatar amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

Football | Brighton strengthened their top-six Premier League hopes as they inflicted a second successive 5-0 home defeat on 10-man Sheffield United. Manchester United extended their winning run after Rasmund Højlund hit an early double at Luton for United to go on to win 2-1.

Equestrianism | The Australian showjumper Shane Rose has been stood down from competition after wearing a mankini during an equestrian event in Sydney. Rose, a three-times Olympic medallist, has apologised for any offence caused by his outfit choice at the fancy dress event at Wallaby Hill last weekend. Equestrian Australia is reviewing the matter after concerns were raised about Rose’s unusual attire, but the governing body insist he has not been suspended.

The front pages

“Putin accused of ‘covering tracks’ over Navalny death” is the Guardian’s splash today. “Putin planned murder down to the second” is the claim reported in the Metro. The Times says “Schools will get greater powers to ban mobiles” while the Daily Telegraph has “Badenoch accuses Post Office boss of lying in Horizon row”. “Now make them pay” – the Daily Mirror also reports on Horizon and claims that the Conservative government tried to delay compensation for sub-postmasters. “Hunt: Budget tax cuts possible without reducing public spending” – that’s the i while the Daily Mail asks “Can our police sink any lower?” amid allegations officers shared graphic murder details on WhatsApp. Page one lead in the Daily Express is “The injustice of cancer postcode lottery must end”. “Apple faces €500mn antitrust fine for blocking music streaming rivals” is the top story in the Financial Times.

Today in Focus

Cartoon of the day | Nicola Jennings

The Upside

A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad

Even with the best of intentions, holidays can be very stressful. Five writers have laid out the kinds of breaks that allow them to truly unwind. For Phoebe Smith, it was wild camping: time stopped when she was deep in the folds of the mountain of Tryfan (pictured above). The experience of falling asleep outside, under the stars is meditative and allows her to truly be in the moment. The water is where Susan Smillie feels most alive. In Greece she decided to let the wind direct her, she was “free and happy, drifting in a slow-motion trance”. Andy Pietrasik and John Wright prefer something a little more hands on. Pietrasik enjoys the constant movement of the river when he’s fishing. For Wright it’s all about foraging, which is something you can do without hopping on a plane or a train. It clears his mind, he says: “We feel part of the world, not just someone walking through it.”

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