The aid package for the arts and entertainment is too little, too late

Editorial: Many critics wonder what has taken the government so long to get its act together

As a matter of political theatre, the government’s £1.57bn package for the arts has enjoyed mixed reviews.

While most of the rest of the economy has had a “protective arm” placed around it, as Boris Johnson says, the actors, musicians, artists, directors, technicians, writers, dancers and all the others who make Britain a cultural world leader have been next to without financial comfort. The cinemas are open, but not the concert halls or theatres. Having been forcibly locked down since March, many critics wonder what has taken the government so long to get its act together – and too late for some, such as the Nuffield Southampton Theatres, which went bust only days before the announcement.

Surely not some lingering prejudice in Tory circles about establishment “luvvies” and layabout wannabe comics and rock stars? Or lingering disappointment at a below-par performance of Wicked the last time they ventured to the West End?