Predominantly used to describe the relationship of the Arts Council of Great Britain and Westminster, this principle is believed to characterize the relationship between arts councils and governments in the majority of liberal democracies. The government/arts council relationship is not uniform throughout Europe however.

The arm's length principle is based on the idea that arts councils should exist and operate with relative autonomy from central government. It is believed that political influence over council activities should be kept to a minimum.

The benefits of the arm's length principle are said to be twofold. On receiving its annual grant, an arts council is believed to operate with relative independence from government thereafter. Such distance is believed to allow an arts council to order its own affairs unfettered by undue influence/interference from the political front. For the arts, the arm's length principle is said to enable the State to encourage the arts without the need for direct intervention on its part. (Ridley, 1987). Keeping the arts council and the arts at a distance from government therefore is believed to impede the creation of state-approved art, political censorship of the arts and other evils (Beck, 1989).

This paper develops Raymond Williams (1979) statement that it is customary for the body to direct its arm, and all that is gained by an arm's length is a certain notion of removal of directly traceable control. More specifically, it challenges the relevance of the arm's length principle to the government/arts council relationship as it has developed in Britain since 1946 and considers what level of control the British government has had over its arts council. The primary focus is on the government's relationship with the most prominent branch of the arts council structure, i.e,. The Arts Council of Great Britain (later to be reconstituted as the Arts Council of England). The emphasis is therefore at national level, looking specifically at this relationship rather than at how government relates to regional authorities, bodies and boards or at the mechanisms of arts provision generally. Where applicable, comparisons will be drawn with the Irish government and its relationship with An Chomhairle Ealaion (The Irish Arts Council).

Concentrating on the primary relationship, this paper distinguishes four phases of development and details the government's principal connections with the Arts Council of Great Britain. It shows that rather than allowing autonomy, the government has become increasingly proximate to this arts council. More importantly, it illustrates the implications of this for the Arts Council and for the arts. Overtall, it shows that intimacy rather than distance characterizes the government's dealings with the Arts Council and consequently argues that the arms' length principle is not, nor ever has been, a true representation of the government/arts council relationship as it has developed in the British context. Furthermore, it shows how this expression has been twisted to apply to situations which are contrary to the original meaning of the arm's length principle and thereby presents examples of the different ways in which this principle has been used in recent years.

CONTENTS
Introduction.
Phase one: 1946-1963.
Phase two: 1964-78.
Phase three: 1979-91.
Phase four: 1992 - Conclusions.