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We'll let museums charge admission again, say Tories
Last updated at 09:52am on 17.06.07The Tories were at the centre of a fresh controversy after it was revealed that they will scrap guaranteed free entry to top museums and art galleries.
Shadow Culture Secretary Hugo Swire said his party would reverse automatic free admissions introduced by Labour six years ago and allow the attractions to restore entry charges.
He said that it would give museums more freedom over how to their run their affairs and provide extra money to buy new paintings and exhibits and improve facilities.
But Labour said the proposal would make it much harder for the less well-off to have access to arts and culture. And they claimed it could be the start of a whole raft of new Tory charges for public services.
"This would be a big mistake and a retrograde step,' Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell told The Mail on Sunday.
"The policy of opening up museums and art galleries has hugely increased visitor numbers, to the benefit of people from all classes and ages.
"David Cameron's party talks about wanting to be more inclusive and yet they are promoting a policy that is a return to Thatcherism and would exclude the less well-off."
Mr Swire told The Mail on Sunday: "We do not want to ban free admissions, but we believe museums and galleries should have the right to charge if they wish to. They could use the money to make their facilities even better and could have special arrangements allowing continued free access for children, students and others."
He said a Tory Government would restore Lottery funding to the arts, which he said had been 'robbed' by Labour for other schemes.
And the Conservatives would set up a new 'national purchasing fund' - with Government money - to buy new works of art.
The Conservatives are also considering abolishing targets set by Labour for museums and galleries to attract more people from poor and ethnic backgrounds.
They may be encouraged to return to concentrating on 'artistic excellence."
The introduction of free admission has seen the number of visitors to large museums and galleries rise to a record 42million a year. Before free entry, each visit could cost up to £25 for a family of four.
Attendances have boomed at the Victoria and Albert, the Natural History and the Science Museum in South Kensington, London.
Visitors to Liverpool's eight national galleries have more than doubled. The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and the National Railway Museum in York have also thrived.
Prime-Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown is firmly committed to retaining free admissions to England's 24 national galleries and museums.
But Labour's scheme is not without its critics. Some museum directors say the Government has not kept its promise to compensate them for loss of income from entry fees.
And according to the Museums, Libraries and Archive Council, the middle class still make up the majority of visitors to museums and galleries. Part of the increased attendance could be the same people making more visits, it says.
The British Museum and London's National Gallery, which have never charged, have complained that the free entry policy resulted in some of their funds being diverted to help others who had to drop charges.
Reader views (1)
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Why don't we do what many other countries around the world do and charge tourists only. If you can provide proof that you are a council tax payer in this country then you get free entry. Surely that would be a good compromise. Even Disneyland do it on certain days of the year giving locals free entry.
- Emma, London
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