Sunak keeps Donelan as Culture Secretary

Michelle Donelan will remain Culture Secretary in Prime Minster Rishi Sunak's cabinet.

Donelan, MP for Chippenham who served as Education Secretary under Boris Johnson for two days in July, was first appointed to head the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) under Liz Truss last month.

Some will see Sunak’s decision to retain Donelan as much-need continuity at the top of DCMS, as her replacement would have been the twelfth Culture Secretary in as many years. Her reappointment marks the first time two consecutive Prime Ministers have appointed the same DCMS Secretary of State.

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Donelan’s attention will now likely turn to overseeing the announcement of Arts Council England's next National Portfolio, which the funder paused yesterday (Wednesday) after discussions with central government.

Congratulations for Donelan have come alongside calls for a quick turnaround on ACE’s funding decisions.

“We are looking forward to working with [Donelan] at a critical time for our sector,” Co-CEOs of Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre Claire Walker and Hannah Essex said.

“So much to do to ensure theatres recover and grow. The first thing she must do is ensure the delayed NPO funding round…is announced ASAP.”

Policy group Culture Commons tweeted it hopes Donelan's reappointment “ensures the NPO announcement can go ahead this week as planned”.

DCMS Shadow Secretary Lucy Powell said she is “pleased” to see Donelan staying in place.

“We have the Online Safety Bill back next week and lots of other important issues coming up the track which need to happen without further delay,” she added.

Policies under review

Donelan’s reappointment means policies put forward by her predecessor Nadine Dorries are likely to remain under review.

Last month, Donelan said she would “review the business case” for the privatisation of Channel 4 and scrapping the BBC Licence Fee.

New Prime Minister Sunak has voiced support for privatising Channel 4 but his stance on the BBC Licence Fee is less clear.

This summer, ex-Culture Secretary Dorries wrote in The Times Sunak refused to sign off her review and “blocked it for many months”, but according to Politico, he has subsequently told the Common Sense group of Conservative MPs he would be willing to scrap the fee.

As a former Chancellor, Sunak is likely to agree with agree with Donelan’s vision for DCMS outlined her in first major speech as Culture Secretary earlier this month, when she said she would prioritise economic growth in the department.

Sunak and the arts

Sunak, the UK’s first British Asian and Hindu Prime Minsiter, had little involvement with the arts in his early political career.

Some in the sector may remember his comments on cultural sector workers retraining at the time of a controversial advertising campaign, but he is since on record as having “unbelievable admiration” for arts workers’ tenacity.

He had a much larger impact on the sector during his time as Chancellor. His October 2021 budget saw DCMS receive a £600m boost but a £270m arts education premium disappeared.

Others struggled with unworkable tax plans and there was outcry at the omission of freelance workers from his support and recovery package. Sunak also signed off on the live events sector's reinsurance scheme, which ultimately saw little uptake.

In his first speech as Prime Minister on Wednesday, Sunak reiterated a commitment to levelling up, a 2019 Conservative manifesto commitment.

Whether this translates to the continuation of funding aimed specifically at priority areas, the continued use of classifications such as the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities' Levelling-Up for Culture Places and the redistribution of funding outside of London remains to be seen.

A long-time supporter of Sunak, Donelan backed the new Prime Minister in Monday’s vote for a new Conservative Party leader, and recently told Channel 4 News he “is a man that is going to steer the ship with all wings of the Conservative Party”.

“I genuinely believe he is going to do a good job for his country,” she added.