Labour will ‘put rocket boosters’ under museum and heritage sector, says Nandy

The newly appointed culture secretary Lisa Nandy has promised to use the cultural and creative industries to drive economic renewal.

In her first national address to industry leaders this week, Nandy outlined her vision for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), saying that drive, creativity, inclusion and a willingness to do things differently would be “the spirit of our new government”.

Nandy acknowledged the "neglect" of cultural institutions. Speaking at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, she said: “This museum, like so many of your institutions, help to shape and define us as we shape and define them. We pass them down from one generation to the next. And we neglect them at our cost.”

Nandy pledged to “take the brakes off” the cultural and creative industries. She said: “Through our partnerships with our mayors, councils, businesses and charities, we’re putting rocket boosters under our growing industries – film and theatre, TV, fashion, video games, heritage and tourism – to take the brakes off the economy, create opportunity for every child and to export our incredible talent across the world.”

She added: “When we turn to face the nation again in five years’ time, it is our ambition that we will face a self-confident country, at ease with itself, where all of our people see themselves in the story we tell ourselves about ourselves as a nation – their contribution seen and valued.”

Nandy cited the nearby, council-funded People’s History Museum as her favourite cultural institution. She said: “These are the councils who have always understood that the history of ordinary people and the ideas that drove them can not just help us not just to interpret the past, but can help us navigate the future. That museum reminds us that change doesn’t come easily.”

Nandy also referenced the governance of public institutions, following criticism that the previous Conservative government had politicised board appointments.

She said she would strive to “ensure the public appointments that we make truly reflect our country in all its glorious diversity, not to fulfil a quota, but to ensure that our government draws on the creative might of all of our people”.

Nandy said that she would "not pretend it is easy" but promised that “we will walk alongside you. We will have your back. And we will give voice to the country many of us have believed in all our lifetime but never quite yet seen”.

Nandy’s speech appears to reflect some of the asks from the culture sector following Labour’s election victory on 4 July.

Last month, Arts Council England chairman Nicholas Serota set out a five-point plan to rescue culture, calling for the return of culture and creativity to the curriculum, culture to be put at the heart of community regeneration, promoting global exchange, and the return to a “free and fearless sector” with an end to the culture wars.

Museums Association director Sharon Heal, who attended the event, said: "We very much welcome the new secretary of state’s commitment to the value of museums and understanding of the needs of the sector. Her speech was a passionate championing of equality of access and the fact that museums and their collections belong to all of us.

"It was significant that the speech was hosted by the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, in a city with a rich and thriving museum infrastructure that serves communities locally and nationally and demonstrates the many ways in which museums can make a positive difference to people’s lives.

"Museums are in a prime position to deliver against government commitments on economic growth, skills development and fostering resilient and creative communities. But government must recognise and deal with the pressing need for urgent, focussed investment in museums."

The UK Government confirmed earlier this week that ministers’ portfolios have now been signed off. The ministerial team at DCMS includes Nandy as culture secretary and Chris Bryant as minister for creative industries, arts and tourism, including the briefs for museums, cultural property and heritage.

The government says its five missions for national renewal will be key to the work of DCMS and its arm’s length bodies, with a particular focus on growth and opportunity. The culture secretary has also indicated an interest in cultural education and soft power.

The new government has warned that it will have little additional money to invest, however. In a statement to the House of Commons earlier this week, chancellor Rachel Reeves said the previous administration had failed to disclose a £22bn spending shortfall this year.

She has told all government departments to shave 2% off their administration costs with immediate effect, including “non-essential” spending on consultants and comms.  

The chancellor also scrapped a number of infrastructure projects, including the controversial Stonehenge road tunnel, to save costs.