Editor Reports: UK Films Council Axe Unforgivable

Another week and another round up of cuts has been announced by Con-Dem government.

Having cut the vital rebuilding of hundreds of schools across the UK the coalition government has now turned its eyes towards the UK Film industry – seemingly determined to bring it down. The Tories decision to axe the UK Films Council isn’t just an attack on culture but also the struggling UK Film Industry says editor Doug Lambert for ATV Reports.

It seems that since the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives entered into, what now can only be described as an unholy, coalition barely a week has gone by when the Con-Dem government hasn’t announced more cuts. Weeks ago they attacked the education system in an unforgivable way when they culled the vital rebuilding programme of hundreds of schools up and down the country. The shameful axing of this important programme was made even worse by the shambolic handling of the announcement with several incorrect lists released detailing which schools were being affected by the cuts.

Now, this week, we have another unforgivable and inexcusable cut announced by the Government – that the UK Film Council is too be scrapped. The council have handed out money to British film makers for roughly ten years and its funding have helped films such as Bend It Like Beckham and The Last King of Scotland to make it to the screen. The decision to scrap this vital arts body is not just an attack on British Culture but also the struggling British Film Industry – which is still dwarfed by the might of Hollywood. Our film industry, while producing a few notable hits of recent years, still can’t compete with the mass media of Hollywood yet the UK Film Council offered hope, funding and support to those who tried to keep our industry going.

Now within the next 2 years it’ll disappear as the Tories, and their Liberal Democrat allies, seem determine to axe all and sundry. The fact that the Liberal Democrats have seemingly stood by and allowed this to happen says a lot – shame on them! I neither voted for or wanted this coalition between David Cameron and Nick Clegg and we think that as this Government continues to axe, cut back and scrap more and more people across the country will come to feel the same way – well we can but hope!