Labour takes steps against the coalition's assault on culture

Some much-needed action against the assault on British arts by the coalition government is coming from the opposition. Alison McGovern, the Labour MP for Wirral South, will today introduce a bill under the 10-minute rule proposing that local authorities be obliged to provide a cultural service, just as they are required to provide libraries. McGovern – who formerly worked for the charity the Art Fund and was a trustee of the South London Gallery while a local councillor in Camberwell – concedes that the bill, without government support, has no chance of succeeding, but hopes to provoke a debate on the subject as local authorities such as Somerset alight on culture as a soft target for funding cuts. All power to her elbow.