Dealing a transformative blow to the country’s cultural status, the UK government is slashing spending on the arts in higher education by a gutting 50 percent and awarding the spoils to science and medicine. The idea of severely reducing funding for subjects related to arts and culture was introduced earlier this year by education secretary Gavin Williamson, who cited the Covid-19 crisis as one reason for the shift in allocation within a budget that is actually slightly higher than that of the previous year. Williamson pointed to an Office for Students’ assessment of the arts as of lower priority than subjects such as science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.