Spare a thought for Ed Vaizey. Although he is now the longest serving arts minister in British history, the Conservative politician still struggles to blend in with the luvvies at arts events.
At last night’s Evening Standard Film Awards, Mr S hears that Vaizey attracted the attention of the night’s host Simon Amstell. Introducing the arts minister, Amstell said that despite the bad reputation the Tories tend to have within the creative industries, Vaizey has at least done his bit to help the British film industry:
‘Ed has actually done a lot to encourage more people to watch films as he’s certainly made it very difficult for them to find somewhere where they can borrow a book, or watch a play, or learn the piano… or feel.’
Still, it’s certainly an improvement on Vaizey’s early attempts to befriend members of the artistic community. Back in 2011, Vaizey was given a bloody nose by Dinos Chapman after he tried to play peacemaker between Chapman and Tracey Emin.
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