New UK Culture Secretary
May 11 2015
Picture: Guardian
John Whittingdale is the surprise new appointment as Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport. I think this is an excellent decision, for he knows the territory inside out. Of course, it is also excellent that DCMS survives - some had suggested the department would be axed.
John has most recently been Chairman of the Culture Select Committee in the House of Commons, but before that was the Conservative's Shadow Secretary of State for Culture. I have good memories of working with him in the run up to the 2005 election, when he was an enthusiastic proponent of some very sound arts and heritage policies. Under John's leadership, we produced the most extensive Culture manifesto ever published by a political party. Another enthusiastic backer of that manifesto was, incidentally, David Cameron, who at the time had the job of signing off all parts of the manifesto; 'This is bloody good', he said once we had it all finished. I particularly enjoyed going with John, as a Tory adviser, to a pre-election meeting with DCMS's Permanent Secretary, to set out what we would do in the event of a Tory victory. These meetings are a constitutional obligation, and although John and I were both under few illusions as to our chances of victory, we had fun imagining 'what if...'
Anyway, those in the museum world should be reassured to know that John is very keen on the arts and museums. He is absolutely not going to be one of those Culture Secretaries who is more interested in seeking the next promotion.
John's favourite artist, I can exclusively reveal, is Caravaggio. We wait to hear who the rest of his team is.
Update - Ed Vaizey remains as Culture Minister. This is therefore probably the strongest arts pairing the Tories have yet had.
