ABSTRACT
If truth were established merely by repetition, then anyone writing about either British industry or the state of the arts in Britain during the last decade of the second millennium would consider themselves well blessed. For constant repetition of the same song, sung by massed choirs consisting not just of old time Thatcherites, but of the guardians of New Labour, of arts councils, media pundits and of industrial correspondents, accompanied always by the fluting descant of sycophantic academics, has surely established beyond question the authorised version of Britain’s cultural history. This official testament to ‘industry’ and ‘art’ is now embedded within every cultural pronouncement made by the movers and shakers of our times. So all aspiring pundits need to do to find favour with the authorities, and to establish their reputations as bona fide researchers, is to repeat the familiar phrases, taking care not to dilute their sweetness with any discordant historical truth.
