Make universal access to culture a priority | Letters

Oliver Goodhall wants to see a national vision to provide culture regardless of income, while Ian Flintoff speaks up for live theatre

A V&A everywhere. It’s not such a silly idea (Editorial, 17 April). Labour’s postwar conviction that good things should be available for everyone led to the founding not only of the Arts Council but also the NHS. Universal basic healthcare: a good idea, right? What about universal basic culture?

I can see a new era of cities thriving with agency to imagine and create the conditions in which more inclusive, diverse, devolved, responsive and self-driving culture emerges – regardless of income. The UK can be a global creative powerhouse. We know the way in which the economic arguments stack up for the creative industries. But we shouldn’t be trapped into setting out an exclusively economic argument.