Enough with the imperial nostalgia and identity politics. Let museums live | Tristram Hunt

As cultural spaces are set to open again, critics from left and right need to get out of the wayThe past fortnight of frenzied shopping has led Bernard Donoghue, boss of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, to ask: “Why is H&M open, but not the V&A?” Or, indeed, massage parlours and gyms, but not the People’s History Museum or Castle Howard. You can watch snooker at the Sheffield Crucible, but still not enjoy the Ruskin Collection at Sheffield Museum. In Fran