Don't Go Breaking My Art!

Arts face massive funding cuts - see my previous blogs here and here the question is posed as to whether politicians understand arts. Well today, St Valentines Day, I was delighted to read that civil servants will stage a "love-in" as part of a campaign to save cultural assets from the Government's cuts in public spending.

You can join me in signing a petition here.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union, dressed up as Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg will share a bed in London's Trafalgar Square, while the public will be asked to fill in postcards saying why they love public services. The protest, entitled, Don't Go Breaking My Art, will highlight the massive cuts in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's budget. The UK has five of the 20 most visited art galleries in the world.

The union argues that for every £1 the Government spends on culture, the UK economy gets back £2 and the British film industry alone contributes £1.2 billion a year to the exchequer.

"Like other public services that people hold dear, our nation's cultural heritage is under threat from the biggest spending cuts in living memory. We believe there is an alternative to these cuts and that the government should be investing in our public services to help our economy to grow and ensure art and culture does not once again become the preserve of a privileged elite." PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka