MPs slammed for spending £124,000 of taxpayers’ cash on abstract art to celebrate Suffragette movement
Questions are being asked about whether the sculpture is really the best way to mark the fight for women to get the vote
BIG-SPENDING MPs were blasted today for splurging £124,000 on a light-up modern art sculpture for the historic Palace of Westminster.
The huge sum - more than four times the UK annual salary - has gone on hand-blown scrolls in the shape of a “dawning sun” which glow on a twelve hour time cycle “linked to the tide of the Thames”.
They are attached to a metal Portcullis to create a six-metre high structure celebrating the campaign for female suffrage, with the blurb saying it creates “168 distinct ‘Venus’ symbols representing the women who fought for their right to vote”.
But critics branded it “an obscure way” to celebrate the Suffragette movement and said MPs should “never forget they are spending hard-earned taxpayers’ money”.
The work by Mary Branson, called New Dawn, is the first piece of abstract art to be installed in the 181-year-old gothic Palace which is home to the Commons and Lords.
It has been put up on the main visitor route through Parliament, forcing a million people every year to look at it as they take in decades of political history.
A press release hailing the piece declared: “The ebb and flow of the illumination reflects the ever rising tide of change that campaigners were certain would bring women the vote in time.
"Each scroll is individually lit, and the appearance of the artwork will change moment to moment, encouraging onlookers to consider the work more deeply and to reflect on the value of the vote and women’s role in democracy.”
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The huge cost was covered by the Commons Works of Art Committee budget, with other cash coming from the Lords equivalent and the Speaker’s Art Fund charitable trust.
A range of merchandise based on the sculpture has also been developed for sale in Parliament’s gift shops.
Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “No one would deny the historic significance of the Suffragette movement.
“But this piece of art will strike many as a very expensive and obscure way of celebrating the important campaign to give women the vote.
“Is a light sculpture really the best way to educate people today about this historic struggle?
“Those commissioning artworks like this must never forget they are spending hard-earned taxpayers’ money and need to be able to justify their decisions to those of us footing the bills.”
But Commons Speaker John Bercow defended it, saying: “On the 150th anniversary of John Stuart Mill’s petition calling for the universal right to vote, New Dawn is a fitting tribute to the champions for liberty of the past, as well as an inspiration for future generations.”
And Tory MP Caroline Nokes, Chair of the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art, said: “Mary Branson’s New Dawn is a moving celebration of the vast numbers of ordinary women and men who worked and struggled for the vote, the bedrock of modern democracy.
"With its complex layers of symbolism, New Dawn conveys and celebrates the scale and power of a mass campaign, while being a perfect visual fit for the ancient site of Westminster Hall.”