Lisa Nandy MP column: It’s time to recognise the contribution of towns to our national story
Sixteen years ago, Labour’s last Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, Ben Bradshaw MP, announced a competition to select the very first UK City of Culture.
Since then, four cities across the country have won the prestigious title, securing large scale investment and long-term transformative benefits that have far outlasted each city's time in the spotlight.
The benefits of the City of Culture Scheme have been clear to see. Economically the host cities have benefitted from an additional £1bn of investment in their local economies and a boost to jobs. Culturally they have seen increased tourism and local pride as people are encouraged to celebrate what makes their home a great place. That’s why we are doubling down on this scheme and will be awarding a £10m cash prize to the next city to win the title.
But I know that for far too long many places feel like they have been erased from our national story, their contributions forgotten. This neglect cannot go on. That is why as the current Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, I am proud to have announced the new UK Town of Culture Competition, which will give small and medium sized towns the opportunity to have their voices heard and receive the recognition they deserve.
The winning town will benefit from a £3.5m investment to deliver a cultural program during the summer of 2028. To encourage as much interest as possible, towns that apply will receive £60,000 of support from the Government to complete their applications. For larger towns that don’t meet the criteria of the competition, the UK City of Culture criteria has also been updated to ensure they can participate.
Earlier this year my department announced the Arts Everywhere Fund, a £270m investment which underlies our ambition to ensure that everyone, everywhere, has the opportunity to be a part of and benefit from culture and the arts. It was a recognition of the existence of cultural deserts, and a determination to eliminate them.
The Town of Culture Competition marks another important step towards that goal. I know that whilst great creative talent and imagination is everywhere, the opportunity for them to survive and thrive is not. Every town across Britain has its own story to tell, forged by working-class men and women who create the vibrant country and distinct communities we see today.
Here in Wigan we have our own strong history of great culture. We have been a town of great music from George Formby to The Verve and of course Wigan Casino was the heart of Northern Soul in the 1970s. That is our town’s past and it deserves to be celebrated.
But there are also so many other stories today that deserve recognition they currently lack, stories that I have been proud to see in my 15 years as MP for Wigan, most recently when I attended Wigan Council’s cultural strategy launch in September. They have inspired me to fight for our towns and give them a proper voice in Government and through this competition will now inspire our nation.