Sir, Margaret Hodge, who is supposed to defend the arts, has used her position to take a swipe at the Proms (report, March 5). In a decade of power Labour has failed to provide a decent education to hundreds of thousands of children. Is it any wonder that children semi-educated in failing schools do not as adults flock to the concert halls, study at the top universities or become high court judges?

To divert attention from this dismal record, Labour ministers periodically harangue a blameless institution. Any publicly funded body that achieves excellence is at risk: an Oxford college, a museum and now even the Proms provide soft targets for a government lashing.

The euphemism of “widening participation” means in reality that any institution or profession that is a centre of excellence will be bullied by this Government into carrying the blame for its own record of failure.

Richard Cross,
London, NW10

Sir, Margaret Hodge refers to Coronation Street and The Angel of the North as giving us a sense of shared identity. Is this the final descent into a British proletcult? Will we be prevented from enjoying any artistic experience that does not directly appeal to the masses? Will Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle have to apologise in court for their “mistakes” as did Shostakovich and Prokofiev in their notorious trial in 1948? Must everything be reduced to the lowest common denominator of popular taste? What hope is there for cultural education with Margaret Hodge in post? Has she never heard of cultural aspiration?

Douglas and Clare Evans,
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Sir, By stating that the Proms attract too narrow a section of society it is all too obvious that Margaret Hodge has never attended one of the 60-plus concerts in a season at the Royal Albert Hall and paid £5 to stand in the arena among a possible 1,400 people from the most diverse backgrounds.

Shelagh Cohen,
London N20

Sir, When did we last hear of a government minister taking any interest in what used to be called “‘cultural” activities — opera, classical music, art galleries, exhibitions of historical or archaeological importance? I can't remember a minister opening an exhibition or even attending such events. Ministers’ levels of activity appear to be limited to what is now called “culture” — pop culture, ethnic music, the adulation of soap stars and TV personalities, and the encouragement of the “cultures” of binge drinking and gambling.

The Government seems to be trying very hard to destroy the last remnants of our artistic life by taking cash away from arts organisations.

Valerie Thompson,
West Horsley, Surrey

Sir, Margaret Hodge has yet again displayed her ignorance. The Proms are a celebration of international composers and hardly a xenophobic institution.

I wonder how many “foreign” composers — such as Mozart (Austrian), Beethoven (German), Grieg (Norwegian), Debussy (French), Gershwin (American), Chopin (Polish) and Verdi (Italian) — are to be represented this year. British composers usually form a very small percentage.

Susan Seely,
Worsley, Manchester

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