Ed Vaizey | No 10 | Film Power 100
Politician: Secretary of state for culture, communications and creative industries
At no other juncture would a British politician command such a high place on a film industry list and – if we're being honest, it is unlikely to happen again. But the British film industry is living through extraordinary times right now, and the current government's decision to abolish the UK Film Council just two months ago has not only shattered the UK film world's established power structures, but also concentrated remarkable power in the hands of the politicians who are deliberating on what to replace it with. What is at stake is some £30m of lottery money, which the film council was charged to distribute. When Vaizey makes up his mind who will get their hands on it, he will place with it the ability to influence the entire national film culture from top to bottom.
It hardly matters, in this context, what sort of a person Vaizey, 42, is: but for the record, he's the son of a life peer, went to independent school and Oxford, and went into politics straight after leaving university. He told this paper a year before the election: "One of the goals I have set myself is, if the Tories win … there will be far fewer people in the arts world waking up in a cold sweat." He may or may not feel he has achieved this. Nevertheless, Vaizey has been meeting with key British film industry players, and has pledged that other bodies – the British Film Commission, the regional film agencies – will survive. In a few months' time, however, this part of the industry will look very different: will the British Film Institute, the arts council, or Nesta (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) be in the driving seat? It's Vaizey's call – and next year's list will tell us.