Culture wars

Shadow arts minister Dan Jarvis set chins wagging today by suggesting that ‘well-placed sources in Whitehall’ had told him that the Department for Culture Media and Sport could be scrapped in this summer’s spending review.

This is an old rumour that does the rounds every so often; but it’s not completely bonkers in this spending environment, and government culture vultures are fighting back. One DCMS source told me that Jarvis ‘doesn’t know what he’s talking about. There is absolutely no truth in these rumours.’ The denial, though insulting, will please Dan the Man because the ex-Para would be out of a job if the Department for Fun closed.

But, if DCMS were to close, what would happen to its more controversial competences? As my source put it: ‘In Leveson and Equal Marriage, DCMS is responsible for two of the government’s most politically complex policies.’ Perhaps a rebranding is in order. Anyone for the Department for Tory Headaches?