Munira Mirza

“London centre has a wealth of creative activity but there are parts of London where there isn't a cinema or where library provision is quite weak.”

“For many there is a degree of constancy in our culture; London won't let you down.”

“A major step towards the universalist approach would be to dismantle the countless diversity policies that encourage people to see everything through the prism of racial difference.”

“A lot of my work involves criss-crossing London to visit the many hundreds of projects, theaters, galleries, museums and groups that comprise the capital's astonishingly rich cultural life.”

“Being falsely accused of racism is, at best, unpleasant and at worst, can destroy a career.”

“Of course, when people work together, there can be tension and disagreement. But policing informal behavior makes it hard for people to speak freely for fear they will say the wrong thing. Even self-aware individuals can doubt their judgement and start to rely on the diversity trainer to judge if something is offensive.”

“The creative sector is incredibly important to London's economy in a number of different ways.”

“I don't think a good education should be confined to a privileged few.”

“We need to keep telling people that London is great place to buy and to shop.”

“Too many developers still treat cultural strategies as a fig leaf to get planning permission, rather than make a thoughtful, genuine commitment to the cultural life of their areas.”

“At the start of the 21st century, Britain is caught in a confusing riptide of anxiety. Of course racism still exists, but things have improved to a point where many ethnic minority Britons do not experience it as a regular feature in their lives.”

“By appeasing the anti-racism lobby and affirming its culture of grievance, public institutions and business leaders are not making Britain a fairer place. In fact they are harming the very people they aspire to help.”

“A contemporary artist like Grayson Perry is brilliant partly because of his expert knowledge of art history, not despite it.”

“We want young people to get every opportunity to experience culture, to understand it and to think it is for them.”

“There's a lot of concern that London is changing and artists are being forced to move to new areas.”

“It's important that we challenge the culture of low expectations. You need to believe every child can do well.”

“Differences in racial outcomes are not the same thing as institutional racism any more than the fact that far more men than women are locked up is evidence of institutional sexism.”

“In times of stress, it is easy to look to one's weaknesses and fear the worst, but it is worth remembering that London's cultural strengths are not some ephemeral dot-com bubble; they are a real, tangible legacy of decades of investment in talent.”

“The politically correct illiberal left far too often side with the extremists.”

“We're very proud of our cultural life. Culture is to London what the sun is to Spain. It's a major driver for our tourism.”