Meet the next Culture Secretary (maybe)

“... a good culture secretary is one that not necessarily promises to get out the chequebook but one who sees a way through the current difficulties to ensure stability. That’s the single biggest challenge I face....”

Note: This interview took place on Wednesday 25 March 2009. After the 6th May 2010 there is a Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition with Jeremy Hunt taking charge of the culture portfolio.

A quick look at the opinion polls suggests the Conservatives may well form the next government. The question for us is what will than mean for museums, galleries and the heritage sector in general? Are those who instinctively feel the Tories don’t value the sector justified, and what hard policy changes will the transition deliver? Set against a backdrop of a painful economic recession and steeply rising public debt how will the museums and heritage sector fare under a Conservative government and what implications are there for future funding and development?

At the time of writing the Tories’ retain a 12-point poll lead over Labour for the third month running, with Labour held at 30% and the Liberal Democrats at 20% (source: UK voting intentions, guardian.co.uk). If the Conservatives do gain power then Jeremy Hunt will be the next Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport.

Jeremy is Member of Parliament for South West Surrey and in July 2007 was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet by David Cameron to take on the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport. Previously he served from December 2005 to July 2007 as Shadow Minister for Disabled People.

Born in 1966, Jermey grew up in Surrey and graduacted from Oxford University with a first class honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Before entering Parliament he was an entrepreneur who set up two successful businesses following a period teaching English in Japan.

His first business was a marketing consultancy firm based in the technology field. He then went on to set up Hotcourses - a publishing company that produces guide books to help students who wish to study abroad. Hotcourses has subsequently become the UK’s largest publisher of guides and websites to help people find the right course or college. It now publishes in 8 languages and employs over 100 people. Since being elected as a Member of Parliament, Jeremy has stepped aside from all management responsibilities in the company.

Jeremy states that he is a strong believer that all parts of the Culture, Media and Sport brief play a key role in the quality of life agenda. Gregory Chamberlain went to meet him and asked him about his plans for the museums sector.

It looks fairly likely the Conservatives will form the next government and you’ll be Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. So are museums safe in your hands?

They are more than safe. And that’s because I think museums have an absolutely vital role to play in society. I see them as having two important primary functions:  safeguarding the nation’s heritage and communicating that heritage to us and to future generations. One of the things which has fascinated me since becoming Shadow Culture Secretary is the education programmes that so many museums have – they are intrinsic to their activities and I want to see them continue. It’s interesting to see just how smart museums have become in getting educational messages across. I’m thinking here of places like the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool which is just a brilliant example of making history accessible. Museums are a bridge between the past and present and I think they have a very important role under any government.
 
We are living in difficult economic times with recession and huge public debt - how will this affect the museums sector? If you gain power will you be looking to make cuts?

I think it’s going to be a very tight public spending environment, no doubt about that, for everyone across government. And I think that museums, just like all sectors that receive money from government, are going to have to look at their costs very carefully. But what we’ve got to be really careful about is sacrificing anything really important for the long-term. The thing about our heritage is that we have a responsibility to look after it not just for ourselves but for future generations. We need to nourish and nurture it and avoid taking decisions that may have short-term financial benefits but cause long-term damage.

So you are not advocating the reintroduction of entry fees to the Nationals? (Jeremy’s predecessor Hugo Squire was sacked shortly after suggesting free entry may be scrapped) Can you see a time when that may happen?

We support free admission to museums. I think it was the right thing to do. Chris Smith (the Labour Culture Secretary who introduced the free admission policy in 2001) fought the Treasury tooth and nail to do it as Gordon Brown resisted it for a long time. And Chris was right to fight that battle. Visits are up massively at museums where they used to charge admission and we want to see that continue with museums as living and breathing organisations. So the free admission policy is absolutely here to stay.

What would you say to those in local government when smaller museums are negotiating their budgets? What would you say in support of those small museums who could so easily see their budgets reduced?

I think those museums have to make their case in terms of local identity, the education programmes they run and the things they do which are unique and distinctive in the community in which they operate.

I’m very lucky in my constituency to have three local museums and they are each incredibly important to the people who live there. I think that relationship to the place you live against a world that has become globalised is a very important source of identity. And local museums need to make the point that the type of benefits you get from investing in your heritage are timeless.

If you form the next government then sport will be as much your responsibility as culture. The 2012 Olympics means there is a lot less money currently available for projects in the museums and heritage sector. What’s your view on that? 

There is massively less money available. And that’s not just because of the Olympics. The current Labour government has raided the National Lottery in such a way that has done massive damage to the arts and cultural sector – as well as grass-roots sports. One of the most important things that a Conservative government would do is restore the Lottery to its original purpose of supporting arts, heritage and grass-roots sports. And in that way we hope to make available around an extra £50 million per year going in to the Heritage Lottery Fund. So the Olympics are happening and we want them to be a huge success but our lottery reforms, which will take place after 2012, will hopefully offer the prospect of better times ahead.

How well do you really know the museums sector – do you have a very London-centric view or do you look at what the sector has achieved and delivered regionally and at a local level?  

I make the distinction between national and local museums rather than London and elsewhere. Nationals are obviously important and need to be successful. But smaller regional and local museums are also incredibly important. We live in a diverse society and if you’re talking about integrating Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Jews and Sikhs then museums can play an important role in that. One of things that all those people are going to have in common is the place where they live. And creating a sense of pride about where you live, its heritage, culture, artistic offer and environment are all important if we are going to create a sense of unity.

One issue for you is persuading those in museums that you have their best interests at heart. So what reforms would you like to see in the museums sector and do you think your proposals will be seen in a positive way? 

The biggest reform I’d like to see in the museums sector is to encourage philanthropy and encourage museums to build up endowments. The US museum sector has endowments worth about $14 billion. I think our great museums should have the benefit of that kind of security. It’s a change of mindset. It’s changing from a view of you’re happy that all your money comes from central government or your local authority and that you are only going to fundraise to support capital projects, to one in which you fundraise for your endowment and financial security. So that’s an idea we need to get out in to the museums sector and make the case for.

If you become Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how will you ensure the museums sector continues to flourish?

By laying the foundations for financial security in extremely troubled economic times. I think at times like this people worry about money and I think a good culture secretary is one that not necessarily promises to get out the chequebook  because you don’t know how much money is going to be there, but one who understands and sees a way through the current difficulties to ensure there is stability. That’s going to be the single biggest challenge I face.

This interview took place at Portcullis House, Westminster, on Wednesday 25 March 2009. It appear in the print edition of issue 01 of Museum-iD magazine.

Jeremy and the Shadow DCMS team have recently launched a new website about DCMS issues, press releases and policy development: www.shadowdcms.co.uk

Department for Culture, Media and Sport website: www.culture.gov.uk/index.aspx

Note: Museum-ID contacted the Department for Culture, Media & Sport requesting a response to this interview from the Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP - Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport but did not hear back in time for publication.