Labour vows to reverse music education cuts

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to reverse £42.8m of Tory cuts to UK music and arts education.

Speaking in Edinburgh, he said a Labour government would restore £42.8million in cuts made over the past six years, including lost grant-in-aid and expenditure of £24million in real terms for Arts Council England, £9.6million for Creative Scotland and £9.2million for the Arts Council of Wales.

Corbyn explained that it would be offset from raising £670million by reversing the cuts to capital gains tax brought in by ex-chancellor George Osborne in the last Budget.

He said: “Drawing on Britain’s rich cultural heritage, Labour under my leadership will commit to extending access and participation in the arts to all people and all communities across Britain.

“There is creativity in all of us but we need to give people the opportunities for this creativity to flourish. Central to Labour’s vision to rebuild and transform Britain must be a radical transformative vision for the arts. 

“Labour will reverse Tory cuts to arts expenditure and set out a bold and inspiring policy programme for the arts building on our proud cultural heritage.”