Lords Grand Committee — sitting of 9 July 2026: transcript & video · Polyfact

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Lords Grand Committee

9 July 2026

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Contents updated on 9 Jul 2026

Debate on cultural boycotts and artistic freedom in publicly funded arts, examining institutional drivers of artistic cancellation, antisemitism, gender‑critical speech, the role of funders and sponsors, and the Government’s plans for Arts Council guidance and safeguards for lawful expression.

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House of Lords — cultural boycotts and artistic freedom

15:25

House of Lords — opening debate on cultural boycotts

15:25

Opening of debate and presentation of boycott report

15:25

Opening — short debate on cultural boycotts

15:25

Baroness Fox — scope and findings of The New Boycott Crisis

15:38

From external boycotts to internal institutional dynamics

16:42

EDI, hate speech claims and public funding leverage

19:26

Silent boycotts, wider targets and policy requests to ministers

21:26

Peers to Minister — institutional support for artistic freedom

23:33

Seb Dance — artistic freedom, protest and institutional confidence

23:33

Intervenant 5 — threats to artistic freedom and role of government

27:15

Lord Addington — legal duties, antisemitism and training

31:13

Antisemitism, gender‑critical beliefs and informal censorship

33:33

Intervenant 7 — ‘silent boycotts’ of Jewish artists and funding conditionality

33:33

Peer — historical warnings and gender‑critical rights

37:49

Peer — impact of ideological conformity on artistic quality

41:44

Government, funders and civil society — responses on artistic freedom

45:47

Peer interventions — funding models and sponsor boycotts

45:47

Peer — funding mechanisms, ideology and youth impact

45:47

Peer — boycott campaigns against arts sponsors

49:58

Civil society testimony and minister — cultural boycotts and artistic cancellation

54:09

Free Speech Union — case studies of artistic cancellation

54:09

Minister Parkinson — government reflections on cultural boycotts

59:01

Ministerial statement — antisemitism, arts governance and free expression

01:03:18

Government response — antisemitism in the arts and sector audit

01:03:18

Government response — arms-length principle and gender‑critical expression

01:06:32

Minister — boycotts, guidance and meeting request

01:09:17

House of Lords — UK–Ukraine decentralisation and reconstruction partnership

01:15:34

Context — Ukraine decentralisation and 100‑year partnership

01:15:34

Opening — Ukraine decentralisation and 100‑year partnership

01:15:34

Opening of Ukraine debate — context and decentralisation

01:15:34

Lord Risby — proposals to strengthen municipal partnerships

01:18:27

Lord Risby — decentralisation in veterans’ policy and reciprocal learning

01:21:08

Ukraine local government partnerships and reconstruction

01:23:46

Local government peers — municipalities, procurement and resilience

01:23:46

Localism in wartime Ukraine — role of municipalities

01:23:46

Public procurement expertise — proposal for UK‑Ukraine partnership

01:26:42

Mutual learning, resilience and municipal twinning

01:30:00

Ukraine decentralisation and 100‑year partnership Q&A

01:33:04

Opposition frontbench — questions on decentralisation and 100‑year partnership

01:33:04

Minister — response on Ukraine partnerships and war impact

01:37:45

Minister — UK funding, governance reforms and local delivery

01:41:37

House of Lords — UK ODA cuts, gender equality and conflict

02:15:24

Opening — UK ODA cuts and conflict impacts

02:15:24

Opening and framing — UK ODA cuts for women and girls

02:15:24

Opening — ODA cuts and UK gender commitments

02:15:24

Peer — impact of ODA cuts on WPS and SRHR

02:23:07

Former Minister — human consequences of reduced ODA

02:26:34

Conflict, atrocity crimes and sexual violence — implications of reduced UK aid

02:29:36

Lord Alton — Sudan genocide, Nigeria abductions and FCDO ambition

02:29:36

Conflict-related sexual violence — service collapse and PSVI leadership

02:36:31

Maternal health, SRHR in conflict and ODA accountability

02:39:32

Peers and Minister — ODA cuts and gender equality

02:33:20

Peers — ODA cuts, gender equality and SRHR

02:33:20

Faith-based organisations — violence against women and girls and ODA cuts

02:33:20

Peer — global ODA cuts and gendered impact

02:42:31

Loomba Foundation — widows’ rights and ODA reductions

02:46:08

Peer — ODA cuts and the 2014 Gender Equality Act

02:49:04

APPG co-chair — conflict, SRHR rollbacks and global finance

02:52:07

Minister and peers — ODA, gender equality and violence against women

02:55:31

Peer — conflict-related sexual violence and UK soft power

02:55:31

Minister — clarification to Lord Alton and ODA cuts

02:58:43

Minister — women and girls framework and gender mainstreaming

03:03:18

Minister — protected programmes, investment approach and multilateral action

03:08:18

Dementia and Frailty Framework — full Grand Committee debate

03:11:34

Debate opening and strategic context

03:11:34

Opening of debate and framework objectives

03:11:34

Grand Committee adjournment and opening of dementia debate

03:11:34

Lord Weir — aims and pillars of the Modern Service Framework

03:15:32

Lived experience, gender inequities and care gaps

03:23:52

Peer — dementia, menopause and gendered inequity

03:23:52

Peer — scientific advances vs current dementia care gaps

03:31:30

Policy expectations and ministerial response

03:37:04

Baroness and Opposition — expectations for the Modern Service Framework

03:37:04

Baroness Pidgeon — national standards, early diagnosis and frailty

03:37:04

Opposition frontbench — tests for the Modern Service Framework

03:42:56

Minister — design of the Modern Service Framework and closing of proceedings

03:50:39

Minister — scope, outcomes focus and timelines for the MSF

03:50:39

Minister — diagnosis targets, risk reduction and research trials

03:56:52

Grand Committee adjournment

04:01:55

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Lords Grand Committee

9 July 2026

Lords Grand Committee Thu, 9 Jul 2026 Actual start 12:00 House of Lords

15:24 - 15:26

Speaker 1

Question for short debate.

15:26 - 15:37

Speaker 2

Freedom of contemporary cultural boycotts. May I remind noble Lords that the time limit is strictly one hour. Baroness Fox of Buckley.

15:37 - 16:54

Speaker 3

My Lords, I'm delighted to have the chance to bring the government and House's attention to the themes in this recent report, The New Boycott Crisis. If we value art as a crucial mirror on society, the corruption of art reflects social trends right back at us, and we should look back closely. So many thanks to those noble Lords who are doing that today. The report was launched here in Westminster at the end of April alongside the Art Beyond Boycott toolkit. It was a packed room and lots of cross-party attendance.

The authors are co-founders of Freedom in the Arts, Rosie Kay, an award-winning choreographer, and Denise Fammy, a senior arts professional, who teamed up with Reading University's Professor Jo Phoenix. All three have experienced the vicious consequence of cancel culture. They combined their personal insights with oodles of professional knowledge to provide a multi-layered investigation into how boycotts operate against different art forms, and not just looking at individual artists, but at gatekeepers such as venues, agents, managers and producers. Using survey data and qualitative interviews, the report shows how even the threat of cultural boycotts are leading to anticipatory cancellation, institutional anxiety, silent boycotts and self-censorship.

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