This afternoon I chaired a meeting of ‘creative councillors’ in Westminster. The Labour Group at the Local Government Association invited culture leads, leaders and deputy leaders from all over the country to discuss how we can support arts and culture at a time when central government has made the biggest cuts in a generation to local government budgets.

Councillors from Brent, Camden, Hackney, Ipswich, Lambeth, Leeds, Merton, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Sevenoaks, Southwark and York joined me, Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary Hilary Benn MP, Shadow Culture Minister Dan Jarvis MP, and LGA culture lead Councillor Simon Henig from Durham.

The meeting was the first of a new Creative Councillors Network that will allow our creative councillors to support one another and share best practice.

Pictured (l-r): Bryony Rudkin (Ipswich), Sally Prentice (Lambeth), Cat Arnold (Nottingham), Harriet Harman, Veronica Ward (Southwark), Tulip Siddiq (Camden) and Sonja Crisp (York).