English museums should only charge tourists if digital ID checks in place, UK politician says

"I would be totally opposed to us doing anything about charging for museums until we have that universal system [of digital ID]. Just think about it: a Black kid comes up and the person on the desk says, 'Are you a foreigner?' There's implications that you could have from that which would be completely against the spirit of everything that we want to achieve as a community in terms of cohesion."

"Introducing entrance fees at English national museums would bring in less than ten million [pounds]. It's not worth doing it, and the hassle for it, and the unfairness, if you don't have a clear way of identifying who's who."

"Berlin spends 525 million, pounds or euros, on arts and culture-one place; if you look at Arts Council on its NPO [National Portfolio Organisations] programme, it spends £458m. And the Mayor of London spends £18.7m... we are pretty miserly [on arts spending]."

"What does it say to people from the rest of the world if we say, 'We've got your stuff, but we're going to charge you to come in'? I don't like that idea."

A politician proposed charging overseas visitors to national museums in England, emphasizing the need for digital ID checks first. Concerns about racial implications and fairness were raised. The potential revenue from fees was deemed insufficient compared to the hassle involved. The politician criticized the low level of arts funding in the UK compared to other countries. Critics from the cultural sector expressed concerns about the message charging fees would send to international visitors, highlighting the importance of accessibility to cultural heritage.

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