We should divert Brexit festival funds to help save the arts

Editorial: This is the kind of imaginative politics that could make the Liberal Democrats relevant again

Former prime minister Theresa May announced there would be a Festival in Britain in 2022 to ‘showcase’ the UK’s creativity and innovation (Getty)

It is not really called the “Festival of Brexit”. The government’s title for it is the Festival of Britain, and Theresa May announced that it would be happening in 2022 to “showcase” the UK’s creativity and innovation and to be “a moment of national celebration”.

The former prime minister may have agreed to the suggestion, originally made by Jacob Rees-Mogg, now the leader of the House of Commons, as a sop to those in her party who did not believe that she was a real Brexiteer. In which case it is fair to ask whether the £120m of public money to be spent on it – confirmed by Boris Johnson in December – will provide good value.

As we report today, Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats’ culture spokesperson, proposes that the money should be diverted to help save jobs in the existing arts sector. This seems eminently sensible.