Lyn Gardner has written an excellent piece on the status off arts funding in the run up to the coming general election.

In an upcoming election in which every vote will count, the arts vote potentially takes on even greater significance. Given the way they've been courting the arts since the start of the year, it's clear that all three parties are aware of this. So far there are plenty of fine words but no promises. This is hardly surprising given the post-budget commentary, which maintains that if the books are to be balanced, whichever government is in power is going to have to find £30bn of cuts over the next five years.

The great and the good, including Neil MacGregor, Nick Serota, Alan Davey, Jude Kelly and Nick Hytner, were out in force at the British Museum this morning for the launch of Cultural Capital, a document laying out how "investing in culture will build Britain's social and economic recovery". It calls itself a manifesto, but in fact it's little more than a welcome reiteration of the economic and social benefits of the arts, necessary because politicians have short attention spans and prefer kissing babies to kissing artists. In case anyone has forgotten, the economic impact of theatre on the economy is £2.6bn, with every public pound invested earning a return of £2. Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture brought £800m into the city, and last year's Manchester international festival generated £35.7m. No wonder everyone wants an arts festival.

I'd encourage to read the whole article on Guardian Stage