The Scottish culture minister promises that the government will fund the long-awaited National Theatre in the next session of parliament. Ha! roar the government’s critics. That’s what the government promised at the last election. “Opposition politicians said the timing of the announcement, in the run up to the election, smacked of political opportunism rather than any real desire to invest in the arts. Critics also pointed out that the establishment of a national theatre was a key policy commitment of Labour’s first term in office. Its abandonment has been seen as one of the key failures of the Scottish Executive.”