Culture minister Margaret Hodge has said that the Proms are rubbish. Okay, she didn't say that, but what she did say, in a speech praising various cultural icons, such as the Angel Of The North, The Eden Project and Coronation Street, was that it was an event most people don't feel comfortable attending, saying: "The audiences for some of many of our greatest cultural events - I'm thinking particularly of the Proms - is still a long way from demonstrating that people from different backgrounds feel at ease in being part of this".
Speaking to the IPPR think tank on Britishness, Heritage and the Arts, Hodge said that a "shared sense of common cultural identity" was essential to social integration, but added that "just as culture pushes the boundaries it can make some people proud to belong, it can make others feel isolated and deeply offended".
Tory leader David Cameron has responded to this by saying she's wrong. Which you'd expect, really, her being a Lab, and him being a Tor. He is quoted as saying: "I think Margaret Hodge is wrong. I think we want more things where people come together to celebrate Britishness and more occasions when people think the Union Jack is a great symbol of our Britishness, rather than sniping at it. It is a classic example of a Labour politician just not getting something".
I think it's a classic example of a Labour politician mixing up the Proms with the Last Night Of The Proms. Which I think we can all agree, might prove intimidating to foreigners. But, you know, pretty much any country has its own flag-waving events (far more than in the UK) and no-one seems to mind.