Press release - 06 May 2005

Labour must act on its promises, says NCA

Good news for the arts if the new Labour Government keeps its promises: this is the message from the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) following today's election result. The NCA went on to rally the arts constituency to work together and ensure that Tony Blair and his ministers act on their manifesto commitments to the arts.

The NCA acknowledged that the Labour manifesto contained excellent initiatives in relation to the arts in areas such as education, access and continuing professional development. The party also took a big step in recognising the many ways in which the arts contribute to Britain, and the range of government departments that are affected by the arts. These are key aims of the NCA's own Arts Manifesto, 70 per cent of which were incorporated into the Labour document. But the NCA emphasised that the arts constituency must not be complacent. The next hurdle is turning these promises into policy and securing enough funding to make them workable.

Victoria Todd, Director of the NCA, said: "Over the past eight years the Labour party has shown its commitment to the arts, and we are encouraged by today's result, but there is still a long way to go. Past experience has shown that Labour does listen, and the NCA will continue to work with government to ensure that the next five years are good ones for the arts."

Joan Bakewell CBE, Chair of the NCA, said: "If Labour does what it promised in its manifesto, we are looking at a promising future for the arts. The challenge for us now is to keep the heat on. Labour must recognise that the arts are a force to be reckoned with."

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