Charge admission for national museums?

As Director of National Museums Liverpool, this week I found myself discussing with Brian Sewell (on BBC Radio 5 Live) whether the nation can afford free access to national museums. Sewell is an outspoken character who expresses extreme views on a range of subjects, including, I recollect, all things northern. Not my ideal choice of debating partner as I usually disagree vehemently with what he says, but no-one told me beforehand that he would be sharing the airspace with me, so I was taken by surprise. As it turned out, Sewell was quite mild on the subject of admission charges to national museums, and at one stage he actually said he’s not in favour (but is merely in favour of considering the reintroduction of charges). Read more…