We, the undersigned British and international artists, writers, and cultural workers, pledge our support to the Labour Party in the 2019 General Election. We believe that a Labour victory is crucial, not just for the future of the United Kingdom, but as a message to show the world that positive change on the environment, workers’ rights, migration, inequality, education and cultural policy is possible.

Like many other countries, the United Kingdom stands at a crossroads. The ‘Third Way’ is dead: we face a stark choice. On one side is the Conservative world of self-preservation, closed borders, spiralling homelessness and poverty, inertia on the climate crisis, privatised education and cuts to arts funding. On the other is Labour’s commitment to free movement and ending the ‘hostile environment’ for migrants, a green industrial revolution, protection of workers’ rights, public ownership of key industries, free education, and serious investment in the arts.

It is not just that we endorse Labour’s aim to restore funding to museums, galleries and libraries to reverse a decade of austerity, in which regional arts budgets were slashed or even cut entirely. We also support their vision of the arts as being integral to communities, and its conception of politics as something inherently collective, creative and transformative. In 2017, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said “In every child there’s a poem, in every child there’s a painting, in every child there’s music … I want all our children to be inspired, to have the right to play music, to write poetry, to learn in the way that they want.” How refreshing it is to have a leader who respects the intelligence and creativity of everyday people, and who values the arts and education not just for their role in the economy, but for their capacity to enrich people’s lives. This is not empty rhetoric: this principle translates into policies laid out in Labour’s manifesto – the most visionary offered to the British electorate in living memory.

Labour will invest £1bn in a nationwide Cultural Capital Fund to upgrade and build new libraries, galleries, museums and arts venues, and maintain free entry to museums. They will invest £175m per year in an arts pupil premium for primary school children, and establish a National Education Service to provide six years of free higher education to all, recognising that access to learning is a basic human right, and essential to the development of culture. They will abolish university tuition fees so that huge debts do not force students into an entrepreneurial mindset, end outsourcing in the public sector, and address the casualisation of the work force so that artists and writers can make a steady income from teaching and share their practice with younger people. They will provide free access to broadband, and democratise the British media, including the BBC, to help more diverse voices participate in the country’s cultural life. They will seek to protect freedom of movement within the EU and the cultural exchange that comes with it, end indefinite detention and the hostile environment for migrants. They will address the housing crisis that has made it so difficult for people on low incomes to live in the UK’s biggest cities, reverse the cuts to benefits that once made it possible for people to pursue their creative dreams, leading to a flowering in British literature, film, art, music and television.

We are excited at the prospect of a Labour government that will draw on Raymond Williams’ belief that “culture is ordinary” and William Morris’ dream of ‘art for the people’. Most of all, we are excited at the prospect of a government that operates in a utopian spirit, after years of being told that ‘there is no alternative’ to austerity, and all the misery and inequality that came with it. We may never have a better chance to realise such a vision: we owe it to the country, the world and the future to support it.

Signed:

Amina Abbas-Nazari, designer, artist, researcher

Paul Abbott, artist, musician

Lawrence Abu Hamdan, artist

Alejandro Acía, artist and designer

Lolly Adefope, comedian and actress

Gaby Agis, dance artist

Fatema Ahmed, editor

Joe Alexander, writer and director

Rachael Allen, writer

Andy Amfo, writer and actor

Darran Anderson, author

Katherine Angel, author and lecturer

Vasiliki Antonopoulou, artist

Holly Antrum, artist and filmmaker

Johann Arens, artist

Henrietta Armstrong, artist

Bruce Asbestos, artist and curator of Trade Gallery

Jesse Ash, artist

Oreet Ashery, artist and filmmaker

Will Ashon, writer

Lydia Ashman, learning curator, writer

Anna Aslanyan, journalist and translator

Miriam Austin, artist

Toby Austin Locke, writer and lecturer

Caterina Avataneo, curator

Giles Bailey, artist

Manca Bajec, artist, managing editor of the Journal of Visual Culture

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf at Cassava Republic Press

Rachel Baker, speech therapist, artist

Debbie Ballin, filmmaker and writer

Peter Barber, architect

Stephan Barrett, musician and research administrator

Robert Barry, writer, musician, reviews editor at The Quietus

Ania Bas, artist

Jordan Baseman, artist

Susan Beattie, artist, puppeteer

Eleanor Beaumont, assistant editor, Architectural Review

Sharmilla Beezmohun, author and co-director/producer of Speaking Volumes

Rebecca Beinart, artist and curator

Anat Ben-David, artist

Louise Benson, writer and deputy editor of Elephant

Josephine Berry, writer, editor, lecturer

Anna Best, artist

Crispin Best, writer

Gonçalo Birra, artist

Verity Birt, artist, researcher

Jos Bitelli, artist

Z. Blace, artist and cultural worker

Katrina Black, programme curator, writer

Eddie Blake, architect

Grace Blakeley, economist and writer

A K Blakemore, writer

David Blandy, artist

Phoebe Blatton, writer

Eddie Blake, architect

India Block, assistant editor, Dezeen

John Eng Kiet Bloomfield, curator

Owen Booth, author

Shumi Bose, writer, Central St Martins

Billy Bragg

Uma Breakdown, writer and artist

Maeve Brennan, artist, filmmaker, lecturer

Tim Brinkhurst, musician, artist and music manager

Natasha Brown, theatremaker, writer and actor

David Buchanan, filmmaker and translator

Amy Budd, curator and writer

Gary Budden, writer and co-founder of Influx Press

George Bularca, artist

Johnny Bull, illustrator, graphic designer

Giles Bunch, artist and anthropologist

Tim Burrows, writer

Will Burns, writer

Judith Butler, author

Sam Byers, author

Cüneyt Çakırlar, academic

Kit Caless, writer, publisher

Steven Camden, author, playwright, screenwriter

Harriet Cameron, lecturer and sometime painter

Paul Carlin, editor

Cibelle Cavalli Bastos, artist, musician and independent researcher

Sophie Chapman, artist/learning curator

Helen Charman, writer, poet and university teacher

Jack Cheshire, musician

Diana Chire, visual artist, founder and editor of SheZine

Toby Christian, artist, writer, lecturer

Jasmina Cibic, artist

Tom Clark, writer and curator

Ami Clarke, artist, writer, lecturer, founder of Banner Repeater

Leah Clements, artist

Paul Clinton, writer and critic

Lucy Clout, artist, lecturer

Esther Collins, artist and programmer

Nathan Connolly, publisher, Dead Ink Books

Tom Cordell, filmmaker

Natasha Cox, artist and programmer

Tom Crawford, artist

Barry Crisp, landscape designer

Jonny Cuba, music producer, Soundsci

Thomas Cuckle, curator, Kunstraum

Thom Cuell, editorial director, Dodo Ink

Gillian Darley

Toni Davey, artist

Susanna Davies-Crook, artist, writer and curator

Gabriella de Matteis, editor and writer

Emma Dean, curator

Antonio J. de la Fe Guedes, dancer, performer and choreographer

Grace Denton, artist and writer

Karen Di Franco, curator and writer

Beatrice Dillon, musician

Catherine Dixon, designer and lecturer

Lettice Drake, architect, Practice Architecture, university teacher

Kevin Duffy, publisher, Bluemoose Books

Flora Dunster, art historian

Louisa Dunnigan, editor

Graham Dunning, artist and musician

Joe Dunthorne, writer

Tom Dyckhoff

Brent Dzekciorius

Theresa Easton, artist and AUE organiser

Will Eaves

Sadie Edginton, artist and educator

Ruth Angel Edwards, artist

Travis Elborough, writer

Naomi Ellis, artist

Leanne Elliot Young, founder of CommuneEAST

Brian Eno

Gareth Evans, curator, producer, writer

Paul Ewen, author

Gianluca Fantoni, Senior Lecturer

Adham Faramawy, artist and lecturer (Goldsmiths)

Marcia Farquhar, artist

Mark Fell, artist

Shiva Feshareki, musician

Steve Finbow, writer

Jem Finer, musician

Susan Finlay, writer and artist

Ciarán Finlayson, assistant editor, Artforum

Liza Fior, Muf architecture/design

Clare Fisher, writer

Chris Fite-Wassilak, critic and writer

Kevin Foakes, designer and musician

Katrina Forrester, academic

Siobhán Forshaw, Curator of Community Programmes (Whitechapel Gallery)

Vicky Foster, writer

Jack Frayne-Reid, writer, musician, Reel Politik podcast founder

Nell Frizzell, writer

Helen Frosi, artist-curator and library worker

Daisy Froud, architect, Bartlett School of Architecture

Merlin Fulcher, Architecture Foundation

Anna Furse, theatre artist and academic

Beverley Gadsden, artist

Adam Gallagher, artist

Harry Gallon, writer

Roxman Gatt, artist

Rowan Geddis, curator

Felicity Gee, academic and writer

Rachel Genn, writer, artist, filmmaker

Carl Gent, artist and musician

Geo

Jonathan Gibbs, writer

Ed Gillett, writer and filmmaker

Marcus Gilroy-Ware, writer and academic

Tariq Goddard, novelist and publisher of Repeater Books

Salena Godden, author and poet

Annie Goh, artist and academic

Paloma Gormley, architect, UCL and UAL

Holly Graham, artist

Jenny Graham, painter/printmaker

Ian Greaves, writer

Aoibheann Greenan, artist

Keira Greene, artist, filmmaker

Katerina Gregos, curator and writer

Neil John Griffiths, co-founder of Arts Emergency

Sean Griffiths, architect, University of Westminster

Fisun Güner, art writer and critic

Meghna Gupta, producer / director

Rose-Anne Gush, writer, art historian, lecturer at University of Applied Arts, Vienna

Amy Gwatkin, filmmaker and photographer

Josh Hall, writer

Peter Hallward, Professor of Philosophy, Kingston University

Paul Hamlyn, painter

Philip Hancock, poet, actor, painter and decorator

Dan Hancox, writer

Ceri Hand, cultural worker

Lynsey Hanley, writer

Laura Hanna, performer

Marcelle Hanselaar, artist

Kerry Harker, founder and artistic director, East Leeds Project

Matthew Harle, writer and archive curator

Phineas Harper, Architecture Foundation

Hayley Harrison, artist

David Harrison, artist

Lyndon Harrison, painter, set designer and educator (Summerhill School)

M John Harrison, writer

India Harvey, artist and playworker

Frances Hatherley

Owen Hatherley, writer, culture editor of Tribune

Eloise Hawser, artist

Chris Hayes, writer and editor

Dan Hayhurst, musician

Charles Hayward, musician

Libby Heaney, artist and lecturer at the Royal College of Art

Edwin Heathcote, architecture and design critic, Financial Times

Tony Heaton, sculptor

Simon Henley, architect and writer

Nina Hervé, co-director, Rough Trade Books

Andy Hewitt, artist, teacher

Katie Hickman, curator

Rose Higham-Stainton, writer

Charlie Hill, writer

Gram Hilleard, artist/filmmaker

Fiona Hingston, artist

Sophia Hinton-Lever, cultural worker and educator

Chris Hoare, photographer

Peter Hobbs, writer

Kate Hodges, writer

John Hodgkinson, artist

Jennifer Hodgson, writer

Thom Holbrook, architect, design advocate for Mayor of London

Charles Holland, architect, University of Brighton

Richard Hollis, writer and designer

Miki Holloway, commoner

Wayne Holloway, writer/director

Jenny Holt, filmmaker, academic

Law Holt, musician

Lizzie Homersham, writer and editor

Fielding Hope, curator

Mimi Hope, artist

Srećko Horvat, philosopher, co-founder of DiEM25

Michael Hrebeniak, filmmaker and academic

Bethan Hughes, artist and researcher

Paul Hughes, artist

Bryony Hussey, artist/educator

Timothy Hyman RA

Evan Ifekoya, artist

Stan Iordanov, artist

James Ireland, writer and theatre-maker

Lars Iyer, writer and lecturer at Newcastle University

Will Jackson, writer, director and performer

Helen Jacobs, artist and educator

Wesley Jacobs, sculptor and foundryman

Juliet Jacques, writer/filmmaker

Eva Jaeger, assistant curator, designer

Rebecca Jagoe, artist, writer and editor

Nazmia Jamal

Heidi James, writer and academic

Keith Jarrett, writer, performer, educator

Tom Jay, illustrator

Kerri Jefferis, artist

Maïto Jobbé Duval, artist and set designer

Esther Johnson, artist and filmmaker, Prof at Sheffield Hallam University

Eliel Jones, writer and curator

Ellie Jones, gallery owner

Martin Jones, painter and Senior Lecturer

Rhian E. Jones, writer, critic and historian

Mel Jordan, artist, teacher, writer

Sophie Jung, artist and writer

Evi Kalogiropoulou, artist, filmmaker

Meena Kandasamy, writer

Helen Kaplinsky, curator and writer

Roz Kaveney, writer and poet

Natalie Kay-Thatcher, artist

Verity-Jane Keefe, artist

Patrick Keiller, filmmaker

Joe Kennedy, writer and lecturer at the University of Sussex

Sam Keogh, artist

Masha Kevinovna, writer and director

Amy Key, writer

Priya Khanchandani, editor, Icon

Jess Kirkby, arts administrator

P Kirkby, photographer and ‘consumer’ of artworks

Sharon Kivland, artist, writer, editor, publisher

Kiriil Kobrin, writer and historian

Alina Kolar, publisher, Arts of the Working Class

Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, editor at Public Seminar and lecturer at UCL

Alex Kovacs, writer

Stevan Krakovic, music producer

Josephine Kyan, filmmaker

Adriana Kytkova, film programmer and short film producer

Ed Lake, editor

Gonçalo Lamas, writer and artist

Jack Latham, musician

Mark Lazenby, artist and art director

Mark Leckey, artist

Colin Legge, artist, writer

Matt Lees, director, Shut Up & Sit Down

Loraine Leeson, artist and chair of Arts for Labour

Lawrence Lek, artist

Rebecca Lennon, artist and visiting lecturer at AUB

Mica Levi, musician

Wendy Liu, writer

Kris Lock, artist

Lucy Lopez

Josie Long, comedian and co-founder of Arts Emergency

Hannah Lowe, writer

Ed Luker, poet, writer, and lecturer

Adam Luria, documentary director and producer

Donna Lynas, curator

George Lynch, writer

Patrick Lynch, architect

Sarah Lynch-Jones, artist

Chooc Ly Tan, artist, DJ, lecturer

David Mabb, artist and MFA Fine Art Course Leader Goldsmiths

Sam Mackay, writer and researcher

Daniel W. J. Mackenzie, musician, artist and organiser

Patrick Mackie, writer

Sophie Mackintosh, writer

Alex Macpherson, writer and critic

Fred Macpherson, musician

David Madden, sociologist, LSE

Michelle Madsen, poet, journalist, theatre maker

Sabrina Mahfouz, writer

Sophie Mallett, artist

Rachel Mann, literary agent and editor

Oliver Marchant, writer and musician

Zoë Marden, artist

Dan Marre, artist/writer

Mira Mattar, writer and editor

Rebecca May Johnson, writer and academic

Angus McCrum, artist

Justin McGuirk, writer and curator

Jon McGregor, writer

Alex McKenzie, musician

John Medhurst, writer

Susana Medina

Vandna Mehta, producer, community arts, events and manager for Diverse Artists Network

Sophie Meinicke Hansen, artist

Jenny Mellings, artist and educator

Ben Messih, Heritage Education Manager, South London Gallery

Metahaven, filmmakers, artists, designers

Jeremy Millar

Graeme Miller, artist

James Miller, novelist and academic

Bridget Minamore, writer

Anna Minton, writer, University of East London

Anton Mirto, artist/director

Jessa Mockridge, artist and writer

Loraine Monk, artist, Artist Union England Exec member

Alan Moore

Harriet Moore, literary agent

Jenny Moore, artist, musician, and educator

Thurston Moore, musician (Sonic Youth)

Frances Morgan, writer

Thomas Morris, writer and editor

Charlotte C Mortensson, artist

Jake Moulson, architectural designer

Roberto Mozzachiodi, teacher at Goldsmiths and cultural worker organiser

Neel Mukherjee, author

Hugh Mulholland, MAC Belfast

Robert Mull, architect

Michał Murawski, anthropologist, lecturer at University College London

Douglas Murphy, architect, writer and lecturer

Cathy Naden, writer and programmer

Mohammad Namazi, artist, researcher, and educator

Bobby Nayyar, publisher

Daniel Neofetou, writer

Hatty Nestor, writer

Sophie Netchaef, curator, project manager, writer

Carl Neville, writer

Henry Jackson Newcomb, artist, curator

Hugh Nicholson, artist

Helen Nisbet, artistic director, Art Night

Alex Niven, writer, lecturer at Newcastle University

Megan Nolan, writer

Tessa Norton, writer and artist

Lulu Nunn, curator, HOAX

Derek Ogbourne

Nathalie Olah, writer

Tom Overton, writer and curator

Barnie Page, curator

Sue Palmer, artist

Yorgos Papafigos, artist

Kayla Parker, artist filmmaker

Andrew Parkes, editor and literature programmer

Aimée Parrott, artist

Alex Parry, artist

Shreepali Patel, academic and filmmaker

Lara Pawson, writer

Florence Peake, artist

Maxine Peake, actor

Naomi Pearce, writer

Jenny Pengilly, artist educator

Miranda Pennell, artist filmmaker

Amy Pennington, artist

Hestia Peppé, artist

Imran Perretta, artist

Hannah Perry, artist

Holly Pester, poet, writer, and lecturer

Alex Pheby, writer

Heather Phillipson, artist

Lauren Pikó, historian, University of Melbourne

Pil and Galia Kollectiv, artists

Adam Pinfold, DJ

Shiromi Pinto, writer

Jeff Pitcher, photographer

Joanna Piotrowska, artist

Laura Plant, curator and designer

Matthew Plummer Fernandez, artist

Jocelyn Pook, musician, composer

Emily Pope, artist

Rowan Powell, editor, PSS Press

Chris Power, writer

Augusta Pownall, deputy editor, Dezeen

Sean Preston, editor, Open Pen

Eva Prinz, publisher, Ecstatic Peace Library

Stephen Pritchard, community artist, writer and art historian

Agata Pyzik, writer and critic

Peter Quicke, Ninja Tune (co-CEO), Association of Independent Music (Chair)

Robert Rae, writer/director in film and theatre

Chal Ravens, music journalist

Rayan Raydan, art project manager, curator

Gareth E. Rees, writer, musician

Irene Revell, curator and writer

Simon Reynell, music producer, Another Timbre

Keith Ridgway, writer

Frances Rifkin, Radical Theatre practitioner, Utopia Arts

Laurie Robins, artist filmmaker

Tim Rogerson, cinema programmer

Sally Rooney, author

Leone Ross, fiction writer

Julian Rothenstein, book publisher

Marie-Gabrielle Rotie, choreographer and lecturer

Lee Rourke, author

Sinéad Rushe, theatre director

John Russell, artist

Niki Russell, artist, writer and curator

Ilona Sagar, artist

Prem Sahib, artist

Ben Salavati, editor

Susanne Salavati, cinematographer

Kareem Samara, musician and composer

Otto Saumarez Smith, historian, University of Warwick

Zoë Sawyer, creative practitioner and curator

Aura Satz, artist and lecturer

Jane Scarth, Curator of Public Programmes (Whitechapel Gallery)

Aki Schilz, director, The Literary Consultancy

Izabella Scott, writer

Erica Scourti, artist and writer

Fernando Sdrigotti, writer

Francesco Sebregondi, Forensic Architecture

Lynne Segal, Professor of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck University

Tom Sewell, artist

Benedict Seymour, artist filmmaker and writer, Goldsmiths

Tai Shani, artist

Monica Shanta Brown, artist, educator and curator

Nick Sheerin, editor

Farhana Sheikh, writer

Louise Shelley, curator

Tamar Shlaim, editor/nail artist

Daniella Shreir, translator; editor Another Gaze

Holly Shuttleworth, producer, Serpentine Galleries

Nastassja Simensky, artist and AUE National Executive Committee Member

Nicky Singer, writer

Catherine Slessor MBE, architect, former editor, Architectural Review

Gillian Slovo, author

John Smith, artist filmmaker

Sophie Smith, academic and writer

Dylan Spencer-Davidson, artist

Christiana Spens, writer, academic and artist

Daniel Spicer, writer, critic and poet

Tracy Spiers, writer, illustrator, creative consultant

Verity Spott, poet, performer and musician

Martha Sprackland, editor of Poetry London

Amia Srinivasan, writer and academic

Larry Stabbins, musician

Patrick Staff, artist

Eve Stainton, artist/choreographer

Bob Stanley, writer, songwriter, film maker

Helen Statman, artist and theatre maker

Trevor Stuart, artist and theatre maker

Lucy Steggals, artist

Silja Strøm, artist

David Stubbs, writer

Jamie Sutcliffe, writer and publisher

Gabriel Szatan, journalist/amateur humourist

Ayesha Tan Jones, artist, musician, community organiser

Dan Taylor, writer and lecturer (Goldsmiths)

Hugh Taylor, music journalist

Kate Tempest, poet

Josie Thaddeus-Johns, journalist and editor

Alice Theobald, artist and musician

Rudi Thoemmes, publisher

Darcy Thomas, writer, producer and broadcaster

Ben Thompson, writer

Milly Thompson, artist

Onny Thomson, artist/facilitator

Sung Tieu, artist

Jeremy Till, architect, pro-Vice Chancellor, UAL, Head of Central St Martins

Maija Timonen, writer/filmmaker

Nikki Tomlinson, producer and artist

Oliver Trattles, musician, record producer, actor

Daniel Trilling, writer

Wil Troup, co-founder of Ransom Note site/label

Dolly Turing, poet and musician/sound artist

Josh Turner, editor

Luke Turner, artist

Luke Turner, writer and co-founder of The Quietus

Subhan Uddin, recruiter for the creative sector

Deniz Unal, artist

Jack Underwood, poet and academic, Goldsmiths

Paula Varjack, artist

Robert Vesty, performer and academic

Owen Vince, writer and artist

Marina Vishmidt, writer, editor, lecturer

Ben Victor Waggett, artist, technician

Isabel Waidner, writer

Oliver Wainwright, architecture critic, The Guardian

Ker Wallwork, artist

Joanna Walsh, writer, artist, editor

Matthew Walsh, cinema programmer

Dan Ward, artist/writer

Patrick Ward, artist

Martyn Ware

Kay Watson, curator

Lucy Watson, writer and architecture editor, Financial Times

T J Watson, artist

Harriet Welch, writer

Richard Whitby, artist, lecturer

Bryony White, writer and academic

Joy White, writer and academic

Saskia Wickins, set designer and studio coordinator

Kishani Widyaratna, editor

Ben Wiedel-Kaufmann, writer, lecturer and art historian

Will Wiles, author

Olivia Wiles, artist

Tom Wilkinson, Architectural Review/Warburg Institute

David Williams, writer and performance maker

Eley Williams, writer

Christopher Wilson, designer and writer

Jason Wood, writer and curator

Josh Wright, artist

Joy Yamusangie, artist

Nayia Yiakoumaki, curator

Luke Younger, musician

Laura Yuile, artist

Aisha Zia, writer

Adam Zmith, writer