Sell off these ‘national’ works to reinflate the UK economy

Feb 10 2009 Bill Midgley is a North East business executive and former chairman of the British Chambers of Commerce, The Journal

THE news that a painting by Titian has been “saved” for the country at a cost of £50m hardly fills me with delight or enthusiasm. This piece of work by a Venetian artist has been described as “part of our heritage”, a statement I am struggling to understand given the nationality of the artist.

Furthermore I understand there are more paintings by the same artist which may well be made available, at a no doubt considerable cost to the nation, to enable us to further protect our heritage.

The money we spend on arts remains a colossal figure and if individuals wish to spend their own money then that has to be their choice. Where it is tax payers’ money, or what is euphemistically called the Nation's money, that is a different matter.

A sum of £50m would go a long way towards assisting the establishment of small businesses, providing loans for the growth of companies, and even help alleviate some of the worst aspects of unemployment.

A radical thought would be that we sell off as many of these valuable paintings to foreign owners and reallocate these considerable sums to re-inflating the economy, but that is not a suggestion I can make given the power of the arts lobby.

The news on the economy does not seem to improve, and certainly if anyone is expecting the recession, or is it depression, to be short lived then I suspect they will be disappointed until 2010 and beyond.

There is a need to prioritise our spending, and while we have responsibilities to future generations that should not necessarily include the acquisition of paintings at a high price which very few people will see or even demonstrate any concern.

Arts and culture has a major part to play in our economy and particularly in our region, and as we have seen recently Culture10 is likely to attract some £40m of spending into the North East in 2009. Better that resource is given to them than on acquisitions that enrich individuals.

Those members of the House of Lords who owe their places to their support of the Arts are a powerful opposition to change. Perhaps it is somewhat unfortunate that other sectors of the Nation's needs are not similarly recognised.

How many peers sit in the Lords because of their contribution towards social housing where there is a real crisis in the country at the present time?

I suspect that we would all struggle to think of one name.

Bill Midgley is a North East business executive and former chairman of the British Chambers of Commerce