Here is this week’s news:
General Election
The Prime Minister has called a general election for May 6th. Our key policies are available at HERE. We wouldn’t presume to tell you who to vote for, but do please vote.
Creative Industries
Digital Economy Bill
The Bill finally got its second reading on the very day the election was called. Second Reading debate HERE and Committee stage HERE
It has been granted Royal Assent this afternoon.
Jeremy called the Bill a ‘weak, dithering and incompetent attempt to breathe life into Britain’s digital economy’ and pointed out that as Reagan once said, the trouble with this government is that it always thinks: ‘If it moves, tax it, If it keeps moving regulate it, And if it stops moving, subsidise it.’
We gained significant concessions, forcing the Government to scrap their unfair broadband tax, ill through out plans for regional news, and the orphan works clause which would have penalised photographers HERE
The actual bill and explanatory notes on it can be found HERE
Plenty of media coverage, with a good round up of what the final bill will and won’t do in the Guardian, HERE with a clause by clause guide HERE and coverage in the Telegraph HERE
Media
Speaking at a National Press Club event at George Washington University Rupert Murdoch hailed the iPad as the potential saviour of newspapers but said that the news industry must stand up for itself and charge for content. HERE
Social Networking
AOL has said it will sell or close Bebo, as the social networking market rationalises to a few big players, more HERE
Arts and Heritage
Regeneration
There is a good story on the relationship between arts centres and social and economic regeneration in the New York Times, HERE
Heritage
A new textile conservation centre is to be established at the University of Glasgow, more HERE
Literacy
The National Literacy Trust is campaigning for the public to Vote for Literacy to raise awareness that literacy is an issue today and has a massive impact on a wide range of outcomes: One in six adults in the UK has lower literacy than that expected of an 11-year-old? More, and pledge your support <HERE.
The EU Charter of Human Rights
Will be performed as an 80 minute epic poem alongside music, dance and artistic interpretation of the EU’s Fundamental Rights Conference in December. The Vienna based EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has to designate a poet for the job: ‘The original call for poets stipulated that the piece would be written only in English, “the literary language,” a display of Anglo snobbery and the type of thing that makes those proud Europeans who speak other languages really huffy’ We couldn’t possible comment, more HERE
BoJo’s HuBu
Anish Kapoor, working with Cecil Belmont, ‘the world’s greatest engineer’ has been chosen to create a landmark sculpture for 2012, more HERE. Well done Boris for commissioning this sculpture, which has already been nicknamed the Hubble Bubble, or HuBu.
On the downside, there’s a slideshow HERE of bad art meeting worse politics, the world’s worst public statues!
Theatre
As we are gripped by Lord Lloyd Webber’s search for Toto, The Times considers what it is to be a dog on the stage, more HERE
Democracy
Jonathan Jones argues that democracy produces the best art HERE
In Parliament
The Digital Economy Bill had its second reading in the Commons on Tuesday HERE and 3rd reading and committee stage all rolled in to one on Wednesday HERE and has now been granted its Royal Assent.
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has published its report: Future for local and regional media HERE
The Lords held a debate on the British Film and Television Industries on Tuesday, full debate HERE
The Culture Media and Sport Committee has published its report: Press standards, privacy and libel: Press Complaints Commission’s Response to the Committee’s Second Report of Session 2009-10 HERE
Where we’ve been and who we’ve seen
Mainly in the Commons, for the Digital Economy Bill, State of Independence Conference, York Museums, York Theatre Royal, York Minster Glaziers workshop, the National Centre for Early Music, Dr Delma Tomlin, Rowntree Park, Eric Musgrave of the UK Fashion and Textiles association.
Ed Vaizey
Shadow Arts Minister
Jeremy Hunt
Shadow Culture Secretary
