What are you trying to convey on the NS cover?
That art and culture are dead - it's the state that Britain is in financially after 30 years of ill-considered government. The tragedy is that it's the arts that have kept Britain afloat during this fucking drought. And it's the arts that are the first things to get slashed.

Do you blame Labour?
I think Labour was appallingly shit towards the arts. People like Andy Burnham, they're philistines. This sounds snobby, but in the Tory party - Jeremy Hunt and Ed Vaizey - they know about art. I'm having lunch with them; they're in touch with artists.

How did you vote in the last election?
I voted for the Conservatives. I live in a democracy; it's up to me who I vote for. We've got the best government we've ever had.

Have you always been a Tory?
It's not about party politics; it's about the individuals. I think Margaret Thatcher should be tried for crimes against humanity.

So how do you engage in politics?
The best thing to do is to vote for the best thing for yourself and then make the country a better place, not vote for old-fashioned, out-of-date ideals that don't work in Britain any more.

What is the purpose of art?
Art is the soul of all countries. If you rip that away, they become nebulous, moronic societies.

How did you know what kind of artist you wanted to be?
I didn't want to be a debutante having a day out. I wanted my art to make a difference, to show people, especially women, that you can be an
artist. You don't have to be a man with a beard.

Was it difficult to become established?
I left school at 13, so to get into university was a bloody triumph. It's always been a struggle.

Why is your own life your principal subject?
I don't need a life model - I am my life model. I've drawn what I know.

Has your celebrity overshadowed your work?
It's a big thing, as a female artist, to be recognised in the street. It isn't normal. But I make a living out of my art. It's my vocation. I'm not
a celebrity.

Is there a side of your art that you feel has been ignored?
I've made work about God and love, but it's sex, sport and scandal that sell. If I'm going to put my dirty knickers on my bed, what do I expect? But just because I'm provocative doesn't mean that people have to go around raping me.

Is that what it feels like?
Yes. When you read the newspaper and it says, "She's nothing but a media whore," you think: "No, I'm not. And they're putting me on the front cover, so they're the pimps."

Is integrity lacking in contemporary art?
Matisse lived in the south of France and he hung out with the Vichy party. For me, Matisse misses a few notes for that. Being an artist, you have a responsibility for your art, but you also have a responsibility for being a correct person.

How do you maintain integrity in your work?
You're presuming that I have integrity. A lot of people wouldn't.

Do you feel critics have been unfair to you?
People aren't cruel about my work; they're cruel to me. But I'm bigger than them. I'm tougher than that.

Is your legacy important to you?
I don't have children and I'll never have children. I don't have a partner. I'm weird. It's about self-preservation and understanding that there's only one person who's going to look after you, and that's yourself.

How do you want to be remembered?
I'd just like the work to be looked after. The Tate has a big room of my work, so a little bit of me stays within history. Also, I have a trust - my studio will become a museum.

What does it feel like to be a subject of study?
I was going to apply to Kent University to do a PhD on myself - I know I'm misunderstood, so it would be good to put it down in writing.

Is there anything you'd like to forget?
Sometimes I'd like to forget who I am.

Is there a plan?
There's always a five-year plan. Even when I thought there was no future, I had one.

So what's your five-year plan now?
I'll be 52 [in five years]. I hope my life will be a lot quieter. What I'd love is someone to look after me. But I don't think that's going to happen.

Are we all doomed?
No, we're not. We have to fight, we have to have faith and we have to look after each other. It's not preaching - it's common sense.

Defining Moments

1963 Born in London
1989 Completes MA at Royal College of Art
1994 Holds her first solo show, "My Major Retrospective", at White Cube gallery
1999 Shortlisted for Turner Prize
2005 Publishes her memoir, Strangeland
2007 Becomes a Royal Academician and represents Britain at the 52nd Venice Biennale
2008 Major retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art