Any government that really believed in "levelling up" would increase access to and funding of the arts. It's one of the ways in which social equality and a coherent, healthy, integrated culture is achieved.
This regime is doing the exact opposite.
But then, as some of you who follow my account will know, I've long believed the phrase "levelling up" to be a sly joke.
"Levelling up" can be translated into German as "Gleichschaltung" - which much more accurately describes what they are about.
Note that funding is to be cut by 50%. Not across the board.
They will play favourites.
Those toeing the ideological line will be generously funded; those not will be made to feel that "hard rain" Dominic Cummings promised when speaking of the civil service.
Worth noting the EU invested widely in arts initiatives in Northern Ireland, since they recognised, as the current Tory regime does not, that fostering the arts is a way of fostering social inclusiveness and harmony.
Just one area in which this disaster will be felt.
The arts are the stories a culture tells itself, about itself.
This government wants to ensure only one story is told.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.