An eager and challenging audience arrived at Kings Place on Monday, 1 March to debate the motion that “This country can no longer afford to subsidise the arts”, curated by the NCA and chaired by Joan Bakewell.

Matthew Elliott of the Taxpayers’ Alliance opened for the motion, suggesting that rather than via Government subsidy, the arts should be fed by philanthropy, encouraged by tax breaks (as was more common in the USA). Bonnie Greer, playwright and author, speaking against the motion was quick to point out the shortcomings of this style, noting that the system was likely to fail should there be a financial crisis, as well as the implication that money from private investors could be a creative hindrance. The arts, however, she suggested, needed to “get smart” and adapt, working hard to demonstratively prove why they should continue to be funded.

Simon Jenkins of the National Trust was next to defend the motion and, whilst championing the arts, he explained that any audience who appreciates the arts should also pay for them. If, however, the arts continued to fight for Government funding, they should do so with a renewed vocabulary and language. Jenkins was adamant that the arts should not be arguing that they are “an investment”; rather the arts should make their case on the grounds of beauty. Last to speak against the motion was Matthew Taylor from the RSA. With a conviction stemming from his political roots (and as a self-confessed “philistine”), he pointed to the economic benefits of the arts, and the “multiplier effect” of any money invested in the arts, further contending that the arts were no more wasteful than any other area of the public sector, probably much less so.

After questions from the audience, and discussion amongst the panel, it became clear that even those arguing for the motion felt that the arts should be publicly supported; it was the support mechanism that was the true point of contention. For many reasons, the arts are too important to be ignored – “we cannot not afford to support the arts” Bakewell concluded.

A recording and transcript of the debate will be available on the NCA website in due course for those who were unable to attend the event.

Click the links below to see the press coverage that the event has generated:

The Guardian

Civil Society

The Stage

The Taxpayers' Alliance