I think there is something much more sinister at play here....
creative thinking is suppressed in schools.......
now they are suppressing it in the community etc.....

no poets,no artists, no musicians,
thatcher made sure no one will stand up anymore by destroying male dominated workforces...now nu labour is finishing off the job...
they do not want successive generations to be able to think for themselves......smash creativity destroy the ability to express , explore .......
the public servants are controlling US ......
this is an exercise in social control no politicians are honest get rid of them all

mick, blueberry,

Pity the government can't cut their financial input into Iraq and Afghanistan, where Karzai thinks we are doing such a terrible job and that evrything is much worse since the British arrived there. We should bring our troops and give the money saved to the arts and other more valid human causes.

Sam Hall, Dorking, Surrey

Cuts & more cuts no matter where is all Nu Labour can do! Yet they are willing to take the tax that arts & culture generate! Before long inspirational thinking and creativity will not exist within our youngsters, everyone is being dumbed down to a low level. Many local councils are being asked to financially support their local football team, whilst theatres can go to the wall. Theatre goers don’t cause mayhem every Saturday unlike football thugs. The lottery’s art funding is being raided to supplement an Olympics’ that will only benefit a few for a short while, what a waste. The arts generate lots of money and give enormous amounts of pleasure to people, governments clearly like the money but are unwilling to allow us the pleasure. Shame on you Comrade Brown

Tricia, Sheffield,

What worries me most about this is the way small groups of people nationally and locally make decisions involving huge amounts of tax-payers money.

Who are they? Who appointed them? On what basis? Are they all graduates of Common Purpose?

The whole process lacks transparency and legitimacy and is pretty well indefensible in the modern age.

Gerald Dyson, Cheshire,

Jeremy Hunt should be arguing for the complete scrapping of the Arts Council and the complete abolition of its budget. People should be left to spend their money how they want, not have it seized in taxes to fund government backed patronage schemes for the great & good. Indeed David Cameron should go further he abolish the Sports Council and all its grants and insist all Local Councils did the same, then we could have decent services for pensioners AND lower taxes.

Phil, Lancaster, UK

Goverment fund (our money) has to be spent wisely, funding should not last forever, their should be a limmit to the number of years organisations should be funded to give others a chance, but during the funding years say five years the organization should develope their own funding or combind with others making them lean and keen.

Peter, Hastings, UK

To Abdul in London: Historically the arts have never paid their way. Going as far back as the Ancient Greeks, through Feudal Japan, China, India, the Renaissance, the Restoration, and as late as the 1980s in America (pre- Jesse Helms), arts organizations have always needed and received funding. And historically, it has been an honor for those who fund them to do so. And as an outsider looking in, I have always admired the British government’s steadfast support for its artists.

Leslie, Santa Rosa, CA

Of course the test of artistic merit cannot be whether some theatre or company attracts a big box office. That thinking has turned most of middle America into a cultural wasteland. But it is reasonable to believe that most organisations --- certainly those who claim to represent particular groups in a community -- should look first to local and community support. The UK is stil way too centralised, too dependent upon London, for its own health. The resurgence (however halting) of regional and local government is way overdue. And is, I note, loudly supported by Guardian readers. OK, the corollary is that funding for local groups should be primarily local, not dispensed from London.

john barry, chevy chase, MD, USA

If these groups can't stand on their own two feet then they should do something about it themselves, not rely on handouts. If people value what they do highly enough then let them put their money where their mouth is, not leave it to the taxpayer to keep these unviable groups going.

Abdul, London, UK

Still. At least we'll have a nice big shiny Olympic Games.

Liz, Cambridge,

It is a sad and unfair decision not to look after the very successful groups whih represent important sectors of thye community, I hope this will be re- assesed.

gilda, London, Dulwich

Labour cuts leading to the death of culture. In a world of increasing materialism we are becoming soulless society. We need the arts to bring creativity and individualism back. A nation without culture is a nation without a beating heart.

Tony Makara, Manchester,

Well folks that's what you get when your priority is to save banks with dodgy business models, wage wars and run down your industries.

DickW, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Guess what ? London again !!

peter watson, ardrossan,