Culture, Media and Sport
Why Labour?
We believe in making sport, culture and the arts accessible and affordable for all. Our commitment to sport has shone through in increasing opportunities for young and old to participate, at all levels, in sporting activity, as well as in the recent successes of our elite athletes. And the victorious campaign to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to London in 2012 will result in not only a spectacular sporting event and opportunity for Britain to showcase itself, but will leave a lasting legacy of regeneration in London’s East End.
Since 1997, Britain’s cultural institutions have seen a renaissance, with unprecedented investment combined with the introduction of free admission to museums and galleries. British creative industries have emerged as leading players in the global economy and under Labour have gone from strength to strength. Two million people are today employed in creative jobs and the sector contributes £60 billion a year - 7.3 per cent - to the British economy.
We want to ensure that all of Britain benefits from the digital revolution and has access to broadband. We will ensure what we make the most of the digital revolution, and will make the necessary investment in our digital infrastructure now to deliver universal access to broadband by 2012, and widespread access to superfast broadband within seven years.
Key achievements:
- 90 per cent of 5 to 16-year-olds now do at least two hours of PE and sport each week; more than £2 billion will have been invested in school and youth sport by 2011.
- There are now over 50,000 playing fields in the UK. Strong measures have been put in place to ensure playing fields are not lost and secure better sports facilities for all.
- Introduced the £140m Swimming Challenge Fund which is helping local councils to provide free swimming to over 60s and under-16s at over 1000 local swimming pools.
- Free admission to Britain’s national museums and galleries.
- Launched a £2.5 million free theatre programme for under 26 year olds at 95 venues all over England.
- Increased funding for the arts by 73 per cent over the last ten years.
- Over the past decade the creative sector has grown at twice the rate of the economy as a whole and the annual exports in cultural goods amount to £11.6 billion.
A future fair for all:
- We want everyone to enjoy free swimming by 2012
- We aim to deliver a world class school sports system, with all children offered 5 hours of PE and sport each week
- An ambitious vision for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: combining world class venues and facilities with a legacy of regeneration for one of Europe’s poorest areas and inspiration for a generation of Britain’s young people.
- We want to open up the arts and culture to as many people as possible, building on the Find Your Talent and free theatre schemes, as well as free museums and galleries.
- Through investment in digital infrastructure we will deliver universal access to broadband by 2012, with an ambition for access for 90 per cent of Britain to superfast broadband by 2017.