Michael Fabricant has spoken out in Parliament at the near tripling of
costs of the Olympic Games to be held in London in 2012. "Although the
Olympic Games will be a wonderful event for the UK in the 2 weeks it is
held, it cannot be at any expense. I am already deeply concerned about
the effect it is having on arts and local sports in the midlands as
money is being drained from the lottery fund to provide income for the
Olympics in London" says Michael. He believes the stage may soon come
when MPs will have to say ‘enough is enough’.

Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday (Tuesday 15th January) in a
debate to vote extra money to the Olympics out of the lottery fund,
Michael said:-

"None of us should be demonised if we question the amounts of money
being spent on the Olympic games- particularly those of us who are not
from metropolitan London and who will not feel the same benefit as
Londoners from the building legacy after the Games have finished. There
are already swingeing cuts in the arts. The Lichfield Garrick theatre is
no longer to receive its funding, nor is the Birmingham repertory
theatre, and that situation is replicated throughout the United Kingdom.
What assurance do we have that the situation will not get still worse?

Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture Media & Sport
replied:

"My honourable friend makes an extremely important point-he is
absolutely right. I shall talk later about the impact in the rest of the
country and on arts budgets…….."

Michael now says: "If the Government continue to get the figures wrong,
there may well come a stage when we will have to say ‘enough is enough’.
If grants to local sporting bodies, the arts, and our national heritage
are cut any further, London’s gain will be the rest of the country’s
loss".