The Government is facing backlash over plans to cut £100 million in funding towards a range of cultural projects – including support for the International Slavery Museum during Black History Month.
The cash was first announced by the Tories as part of the Levelling Up Fund last year, with winning bids confirmed in the Spring Budget.
They included a number of cultural institutions in the North of England, such as £15 million for the National Railway Museum in York, £10 million for National Museums Liverpool and £5 million for the National Poetry Centre in Leeds.
£10 million was also set to go towards the British Library North in Leeds, £2.6 million for the Victoria and Albert Museum in Dundee and £10 million for Venue Cymru in Conwy, Wales.
But in the Budget on Wednesday, the Government said: “To ensure investment is focussed on the growth mission, the Government is minded to cancel unfunded Levelling Up Culture and Capital Projects, and the West Midlands culture and inward investment funding, that were announced at Spring Budget 2024, but will consult with potential funding recipients before making a final decision.”
Campaigners have reacted with dismay and say they are now engaging with the Government in the hope of reversing the decision, or at least retaining some of the funds.
Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, has been a long-term supporter of the project to redevelop the International Slavery Museum in her home city.
i understands she has contacted ministers, making clear she is “disappointed” and “concerned”.
Ms Johnson was elected as Liverpool’s first black MP in 2019. i understands she has noted the “irony” that the decision was made during Black History Month.
The comments come after Sir Keir Starmer suffered a blow last week, when the UK was forced to agree to acknowledge calls for slavery reparations at his first major Commonwealth summit despite the Government insisting it was “not on the agenda”.
The final communique, agreed by all 56 members of the association, noted “calls for discussions on reparatory justice” for slavery and said “the time has come” for a “meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation” on a “common future based on equity”.
The Prime Minister spent the whole summit insisting the UK does not pay reparations. i understands he had been pushing alternative proposals like making it easier for smaller countries to access international finance.
In Leeds, Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, figurehead and founder of the National Poetry Centre project, said cancelling the planned funding would be “devastating for culture, for communities, for learning and for the creative economy.”
Campaigners say losing the £5 million awarded by the Government could lead to a further £15 million of funding from other partners being withdrawn.
“Immense effort and resource” has already gone into progressing the centre which would attract over 100,000 visitors a year and create work for hundreds of freelancers as well as permanent posts, they claim.
Mr Armitage added: “We excel in the world of language and literature, and yet we have never had a national cultural headquarters dedicated to poetry.
“We have to change that – and give our nation of poets the home and the platform they deserve.”
Ruth Pitt, who has worked with Mr Armitage for four years on the project, added: “We are trying to do something completely unique here.
“Poetry is loved by people of all ages and cultures. Its heritage goes back hundreds of years. It gives us hope, joy and a means of expressing ourselves that is sharper and more inclusive than almost any other art form,” Ms Pitt told i.
“We are nurturing a very special hub to give every form of poetic activity a voice on the national stage. It would be a tragedy to throw all that away now.”
The British Library North project would see a Grade I listed building, Temple Works, brought back into use to estbalish a new 8,000m2 facility in Leeds providing learning, community, research, business incubation, events, and exhibition space.
Sir Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative MP for Wetherby and Easingwold, has supported the project.
He told i: “This decision flies in the face of every promise the Labour Government made to the North, including promises by our so-called culture backing Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin.
“The British Library, with its main storage site in my constituency, has been driving economic growth, jobs and investment in the region.
“For Labour to cancel the last Conservative government’s investment in British Library North is to turn their back on the role the cultural sector plays in delivering growth.”
A spokesperson for the British Library said: “We’ve been monitoring the Budget announcement and are working with MHCLG and regional partners to understand the next steps.”
A spokesperson for the Science Museum Group, which runs the National Railway Museum in York, said: “The Government is consulting with a number of public bodies that were the recipients of the Levelling Up Culture and Capital Projects funds.
“We recognise the difficult settlement faced by all Departments. We are working constructively with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and our Sponsor, Department for Culture Media and Sport, to outline the enormous value of this investment in boosting the local economy and creating new jobs as part of one of the largest brownfield regeneration projects in the UK, York Central.”
A spokseperson for Museums Liverpool said: “In March 2024, it was announced that the redevelopment of International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum would receive £10 million from the Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
“We are aware this is under review following the Autumn Budget and we will be consulting with colleagues in Government, ensuring the local, national and international significance of this project is understood.
“National Museums Liverpool remains committed to this important and deeply impactful project, which has been years in development and has grown with the collaboration and guidance of many, including our community stakeholders.”
Mayor Brabin and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.