A Paisley resident reacts to the news of Coventry’s win. The town was the only Scottish competitor for the UK City of Culture title Times photographer James GlossopDerek Mackay has indicated that Scotland’s arts budget will not be cut in next week’s budget as he coped with the disappointment of Paisley’s failure to become the UK’s next city of culture. Mr Mackay, Scotland’s finance minister, has faced fevered speculation that he is preparing to cut arts funding, but the MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, which includes a part of Paisley, told The Times that the arts community should not be too pessimistic. As he commiserated with the defeated Paisley bid team — which lost to Coventry in the bid to become City of Culture in 2021 — Mr Mackay said: “We have put our money where our mouth is where culture is concerned. Some people have made assumptions, assuming there will be a…

Source: The Times December 08, 2017 00:00 UTC