Culture clwb

The length and breadth of the country, councils are suffering the effects of the Tories' savage cuts to local government funding. Given the huge pressure to make "efficiencies" and scrap services as a result, it's a real danger that the arts and culture sector will be the worst impacted.

So it's reassuring to hear Cardiff City Council leader Huw Thomas telling Buzz editor Fedor Tot that "culture and creativity" remain crucial to his vision for the city, even if this is less for their own sake as it is as a magnet to attract businesses into investing and creating jobs. Thomas is realistic enough to admit financial resources are severely stretched and to stress the need for partnerships and a collaborative spirit. He and his council have given a clear indication that they intend to walk the walk rather than merely talk the talk with their backing of the victorious Save Womanby Street campaign and the subsequent engagement with Sound Diplomacy.

Of course, Cardiff enjoys the benefits and cultural cachet of being a capital city. The prospect for arts and culture in other parts of Wales, and the UK more generally, is significantly bleaker.