A GLASGOW councillor is urging the Scottish Government to invest more in the city’s museums and cultural venues post lockdown.

Labour councillor Martin McElroy who is also a board member of Glasgow Life says the city should benefit from a share of the £97 million awarded to Holyrood by the UK Government.

Mr McElroy says the organisation has received some scary warnings about future funding and believes Glasgow settings should be given their fair share.

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On Monday night buildings across Glasgow, including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, joined the #LightItInRed nationwide campaign to draw attention to the critical condition of the live events and entertainment industry

Mr McElroy said: “The SNP government has cut Glasgow’s budget every year for 12 years. This has meant fewer resources for our museums and cultural venues in the city. This combined with the huge drop in income Glasgow Life and theatre companies generates due to COVID19 has the potential to spell disaster.

“The emergency funding announced by the Chancellor this week is welcome and the Scottish Government must give Glasgow our fair share. It could mean the difference between keeping our hard-fought cultural reputation or losing it forever.”

The councillor has also raised concerns that nationally important collections are funded by Glasgow tax payers whereas they are funded by the Scottish Government in Edinburgh.

He added: “Our city is home to some of the most important collections in the country, yet we get no funding from the Scottish Government for our museums and venues.

“The Scottish Government needs to look again at how culture is funded and give our city a fair share of funding.”

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Two nights ago, 500 landmarks across the UK lit up in “emergency red” to draw attention to the critical conditions of the live events and entertainment industry.

Inspired by Germany’s #NightofLight protest in June which saw €1billion in emergency arts funding, the #LightItInRed campaign saw at least 564 buildings illuminated, including the RCS.

Councillor David McDonald, chairman of Glasgow Life, agreed that like Glasgow Life, cultural, arts and heritage institutions across the UK and beyond have been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

Mr McDonald said: “As one of Scotland’s biggest charities we strive to provide access to the art we love, the culture which gives our life meaning and the learning which helps us grow. We exist to engage, educate and inspire the citizens of and visitors to Glasgow.

“The complete shutdown of Glasgow’s museums, galleries, theatres and arts venues for more than three months, together with the cancellation of most of the city’s events and festivals this year, means the tens of millions of pounds of income which supports everything we do has been wiped out.

“We warmly welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement of additional funding to support cultural institutions in the wake of Covid-19. Culture is for and must remain accessible to everyone.

“This package underlines the importance of culture and the vital contribution it makes to the economy and the wellbeing of our communities.

“We are in touch with the Scottish Government and our partners across the sector to ensure that Glasgow’s cultural and heritage community accesses this much-needed funding support.”