However deplorable one might find his self-declared socialism or dining habits, the Mayor of New York at least has an eye-cathing approach to opera. Last month, Zohran Mamdani, announced a partnership with the Metropolitan Opera to give away 70,000 tickets to New Yorkers who have never attended, declaring that ‘opera is one of the greatest art forms we have’. He believes that one of the world’s great cultural institutions should be experienced by more people: no more, no less.

Britain has no settled idea of what cultural policy is supposed to accomplish

Britain has no settled idea of what cultural policy is supposed to accomplish

Compare this with Britain. The Government has found the time to produce a framework for culture and local authorities. It would like the latter to have a larger role in deciding what gets supported, how cultural provision is organised and, in time, how money is spent. To that end, enamoured with its own processes and catch-phrases, the new National Cultural Framework speaks of ‘place’, ‘partnership’, ‘ecosystems’ and learning ‘what works’, asking local authorities to begin with ‘what is rather than what should be’.

The mirage of practicality should ring alarms bells for anyone used to following Whitehall economy of ideas. Because ‘what works’ is an incredibly vague threshold for assessing what culture is, let alone what it is for.

A full theatre works, presumably. So does a museum which draws tourists. But an orchestra........

© The Spectator