New Culture Secretary lists no cultural interests
mainKaren Bradley, who succeeds John Whittingdale as UK Secretary for Culture Media and Sport, is a former tax manager who held a security brief in the Home Office.
Representing a rural constituency, she has no track record on the arts and makes no mention of them in her website c.v.
Looks like she has visited Madam Tussauds.
Her new department’s main policy areas are:
1 arts and culture
2 broadcasting
3 creative industries
4 cultural property, heritage and the historic environment
5 gambling and racing
6 libraries
7 media ownership and mergers
8 museums and galleries
9 the National Lottery
10 sport
11 telecommunications and online
12 tourism
Can any SD readers elucidate as to her experience across any of these fields? Her own biography, departmental profile and other online resources are overly modest in illuminating her undoubted qualifications for this important post.
Rearrange the department’s title in reverse order and you will get a pretty good idea of its present priorities. Departmental policy will therefore remain safe (cheap and populist) in Ms Bradley’s hands, no doubt. God help us all.
Our problem is going to be that, like previous Culture Secretaries, she is not going to understand the ‘market failure’ bit of her portfolio. She’ll berate us for not being able to stand on our own two feet. It’s back to the drawing board for us arts advocates.
I would think that as Britain Brexits the (5) “gambling and racing” minister should play a pronounced role.
Absolutely chilling.
Anyone in the UK ever seen our new PM at a cultural event? Not a leading question, genuinely interested.
Define cultural event……………..
Highly qualified for the job!