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John Whittingdale has no plans to scrap free admission to museums John Whittingdale has no plans to scrap free admission to museums
(about 1 hour later)
The new culture secretary, John Whittingdale, has undertaken to maintain free admission to national museums, despite fears of big cuts in his departmental budget. John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, has said he plans to maintain free admission to national museums, despite fears of big cuts in his departmental budget.
On his first official visit in his new post to the British Library’s sound archive, he said he has no further ambitions in government now that he has got his dream job. On his first official visit in his new post to the British Library’s sound archive, Whittingdale also said he has no further ambitions in government now that he has got his dream job.
He promised: “I will make the case for the arts as much as I can”, although cuts to the arts budget are inevitable in the government’s spending review. He promised to “make the case for the arts as much as I can”, although cuts to the arts budget were inevitable in the government’s spending review.
“We have absolutely no plans to revisit free admission to the national museums,” he said, describing the soaring visitor numbers which followed the scrapping of admission charges as “hugely successful”. “We have absolutely no plans to revisit free admission to the national museums,” he said, describing the soaring visitor numbers which followed the scrapping of admission charges as hugely successful.
He insisted that the chancellor, George Osborne, was fully convinced of the case for the arts and noted that Osborne had helped preserve a historic aerodrome in Whittingdale’s own Maldon constituency through a grant taken from the Libor fines on banks. He insisted that the chancellor was convinced of the case for the arts and noted that George Osborne had helped save a historic aerodrome in Whittingdale’s Maldon constituency through a grant taken from the Libor fines on banks.
Although coverage of Whittingdale’s appointment so far has concentrated on the threat to the BBC from a man who famously described the licence fee as worse than the poll tax, his genuine interest in the arts is widely acknowledged and welcomed, after a merry-go-round of culture secretaries who seemed as surprised as the arts community at their appointment. Although coverage of Whittingdale’s appointment has concentrated on the threat to the BBC from a man who famously described the licence fee as worse than the poll tax, his genuine interest in the arts is widely acknowledged and welcomed, after a merry-go-round of culture secretaries who seemed as surprised as the arts community at their appointment.
He is a former shadow culture spokesman and former chair of the culture media and sport select committee. Whittingdale, a former shadow culture spokesman and former chair of the culture media and sport select committee, said: “I have absolutely no ambition to do any other job in government. This is the job I have always wanted and never thought I would get.”
“I have absolutely no ambition to do any other job in government. This is the job I have always wanted and never thought I would get,” he said. Although Whittingdale will almost certainly have bad news to announce in the future, he visited the British Library on the coat-tails of good news – a £9.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the library’s Save Our Sounds project, which aims to digitise and preserve recordings that are in danger of being lost as generations of technology, from wax cylinders to mini-disc players, become obsolete along with the analogue-trained engineers who know their secrets.
Although Whittingdale will almost certainly have bad news to announce in the future, he visited the British Library on the coat tails of good news, a grant just announced of £9.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the library’s Save Our Sounds project, which aims to digitise and preserve recordings that are in danger of being lost as generations of technology, from wax cylinders to mini-disc players, become obsolete along with the analogue-trained engineers who knew their secrets. As Will Prentice, head of the sound studios, showed him cupboards full of yellowed instruction manuals and reel-to-reel tape recorders, demonstrated an LP being washed to clean the grime from its grooves, and a tape being baked in a slow oven to fix the degrading surface, Whittingdale’s enthusiasm was real.
As Will Prentice, head of the sound studios, showed him cupboards full of yellowed instruction manuals and reel-to-reel tape recorders, demonstrated an LP being washed to clean the grime from its grooves, and a tape being baked in a slow oven to fix the degrading surface, Whittingdale’s enthusiasm was unmistakable. The culture secretary still has an extensive collection of punk records on vinyl, “including some of those really rare, limited-edition colour ones”, he said proudly. His son, Henry, who works at Island Records, regularly brings home and plays vinyl releases that are “not always entirely welcome”, he added.
The culture secretary still has an extensive collection of punk records on vinyl, “including some of those really rare, limited-edition colour ones” he said proudly, and his son Henry, who works at Island Records, regularly brings home and plays new vinyl releases that are “not always entirely welcome”, he added.
When Prentice put Whittingdale in headphones and played him an anonymous recording, he recognised the voice immediately: “Oh that’s Noel Coward – unmistakable.”When Prentice put Whittingdale in headphones and played him an anonymous recording, he recognised the voice immediately: “Oh that’s Noel Coward – unmistakable.”
The rare live recording of Coward’s curtain speech on the first night of his 1947 play Peace in Our Time reached its stirring climax: “Sixteen years ago, at the opening of Cavalcade, I said that I hoped the play would make the audience feel that it was still a pretty exciting thing to be English. I still stubbornly believe that, and I hope passionately, with all my heart, that my countrymen and whatever governments may be in power will allow me to go on believing that to the end of my days.” In its stirring climax, the rare live recording of Coward’s curtain speech on the first night of his 1947 play Peace in Our Time said: “Sixteen years ago, at the opening of Cavalcade, I said that I hoped the play would make the audience feel that it was still a pretty exciting thing to be English. I still stubbornly believe that, and I hope passionately, with all my heart, that my countrymen and whatever governments may be in power will allow me to go on believing that to the end of my days.”