LABOUR will boost the creative industries eventually and as resources permit, Sir Keir Starmer announced today.

Launching Labour’s plan for the sector and pledging to provide “access for all” to the arts, he warned that in government it would not “turn on the taps straight away” because of the economic inheritance.

It would however act quickly to include more arts and sports subjects in the national curriculum, he said, dismissing Tory attitudes that “working people don’t need culture.”

All children would be encouraged to study a creative subject or sport until age 16.

The Bectu section of Prospect union welcomed the pledges, commenting that “a responsible government needs to foster long-term, sustainable jobs in the sector. Freelancers must be better supported not only to enter the profession but throughout their careers.”

But the Labour leader did not take questions at the launch, perhaps fearful of being challenged over his treatment of MP Diane Abbott.