Andrew Lloyd Webber blasts U.K. government over arts funding

Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition has slashed budgets for various arts projects to cut public spending, and last year (11) they shut down the UK Film Council.

In a debate in the House of Lords on Tuesday (10Jul12), Lord Lloyd Webber blasted government officials and said the austerity measures are putting an “unimaginable strain” on arts funding.

He said, “I can’t help feel that in this cult of austerity Britain, the government is turning its back on one if its most promising and extraordinary world-leading sectors.

“There is a simple truth that should lie at the heart of this debate – Britain still leads the world in the creative industries, and if ‘austerity Britain’ ignores that fact we will surely live to regret it.”