Labour and LibDems call for £1m in taxpayers money for modern art

Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors have called for the County Council to spend almost £1m of taxpayers’ money on modern art projects.  In a motion at today’s County Council meeting they called for 1% of the council’s capital funding, used for maintaining and upgrading schools, care homes and public highways, to be diverted to modern art projects.  The motion, which was defeated by Conservative Councillors, was brought despite Gloucestershire’s historic shortage in funding for school buildings.

Cllr Ray Theodoulou, Cabinet Member for Resources, commented:

“The Labour Government gives Gloucestershire a very poor deal in terms of capital funding already.  Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors want us to cut that budget still further to support more modern art – which seems ridiculous to me.  I’m not going to cancel a school refurbishment and tell the teachers that instead they can have a piece of sculpture!  If we had money to spare maybe we could consider it, but we don’t and council taxpayers in this county already pay too much.  The County Council already does a lot to support art in Gloucestershire – but this is simply unaffordable.

Background 

The 1% for art would have applied to building projects over £500,000.  In the Council’s current capital programme there are 34 such schemes costing a total of £94.4m.  Therefore Labour and LibDem councillors were calling for £940,000 of that money to be transferred to modern art projects.