Labour suggests arts sector could be Brexit bargaining chip

Labour has suggested it will use Britain’s artistic prowess as a bargaining chip in the Brexit negotiations, despite the hostility of many artists and performers to the prospect of leaving the European Union.

The party’s culture manifesto, launched on Monday in Hull, the current UK capital of culture, by Jeremy Corbyn and Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, acknowledges the opposition of many in the creative industries to Brexit. “Labour understands the serious concerns that the creative industries have about Brexit,” it says.

It tries to allay concerns by promising to work for a good Brexit deal on a range of issues including intellectual property, the loss of access to EU funds, and travel and performing restrictions.

In a foreword to the document, Corbyn and Watson even suggest a Labour government would use the arts to secure the best overall trade deal possible in the Brexit talks. It says: “Labour will place our creative industries at the heart of our industrial strategy and our negotiations as we prepare to leave the European Union. We recognise they give the UK a cultural clout that can open doors to markets that might otherwise remain closed.”

Speaking at the launch in a former fruit dock warehouse turned music venue, Watson said after the referendum “we will need the shared experiences this sector provides”.

Labour’s arts strategy promises to put a culture secretary on the Brexit cabinet committee, unlike in the current government.

The culture manifesto claims the arts boost the UK’s soft power and help define how the UK is perceived overseas. It cites music, fashion, video games, architecture, design and the performing arts as areas where Britain is a world leader.

Many in the arts, including the Creative Industries Federation, fear Brexit will harm the open atmosphere that has allowed the cultural scene to thrive in the UK.

Labour’s arts strategy puts forward policies designed to appeal to creative types, including a £1bn culture capital fund aimed at providing new venues and restoring old ones. It also pledges to maintain free museum entry, extend the £1,000 pub relief fund to small music venues and review how artists are rewarded for their work in the digital age.

The document confirms Labour’s commitment to introducing a £160m arts pupil premium and promises investments in arts facilities in state schools to match those in private schools.

Corbyn said: “We will end austerity to boost creativity. What we have proposed here today in Hull is something that will absolutely transform the cultural landscape of this country in exactly the same way [as] the 1960s Labour government led by Harold Wilson and that fantastic minister for the arts Jenny Lee, who transformed whole ideas and notions and culture and involvement of everybody. There is creativity in us all.

“The arts pupil premium will allow every primary school child the chance to learn an instrument, take part in drama and dance and have regular access to a theatre, gallery or museum. Labour will deliver a creative future for all and culture for the many, not the few. We want to unleash the potential of every young person not just through education but also through culture. In every one of us there is a poet, a writer, a singer of songs, an artist. But too few of us fulfil our artistic ambition.”

Corbyn was introduced by the actor Samantha Morton, who said: “Artistic careers shouldn’t be restricted to those who go to the most expensive schools. That’s why Labour’s policies are so important to make sure children have the opportunity to study artistic subjects in schools and build up our cultural institutions.”

Watson, who is a graduate of Hull University, added: “Labour believes that cities like Hull have demonstrated that creativity can drive inward investment, regeneration and tourism as well as being an important expression of local and regional identity.”

The Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, challenged Corbyn to condemn the IRA after failing to do so in an interview with Sky News on Sunday. Brokenshire’s comments were passed on by a reporter from the Sun during the launch of Labour’s arts manifesto.

Asked whether he condemned the IRA as terrorists, Corbyn said: “I condemn all acts of violence in Northern Ireland wherever they came. I spent the whole of the 1980s representing constituencies with large numbers of Irish people in them. We wanted peace, we wanted justice, we wanted a solution. The first ceasefire helped to bring about those talks which represented all sections of the community of Northern Ireland.

“The Labour government of 1997 helped bring in the historic Good Friday agreement, the basis of which was a recognition of the differing cultural histories and values of Northern Ireland. It stood the test of time and it’s still there. We have a devolved administration. We should recognise that that peace was achieved by a lot of bravery both in the unionist and in the nationalist community.”