I don’t know what’s more wrong-headed about Margaret Hodge’s swipe at the Proms. Is it the tortured syntax and horrendous jargon, the terrifyingly robotic references to “sectors” and “common belongings”? Or is it simply the casual ignorance - the assumption that the world’s biggest classical music festival can only be equated with the flag-waving Last Night?

It’s almost sadder to hear the Conservatives’ response. Making exactly the same leap of logic, David Cameron took Hodge’s blinkered baton and ran with it, arguing that, actually, we want more occasions when people can bond over the Union Jack. And then good old Gordon rolled over obediently - horrified by the idea of being out-Britted - and defended the Proms as “quintessentially British”.

Well let’s get the dinosaur out of the way first. The Last Night of the Proms is not where you find your average Promsgoer. It’s the only night where you’ll see a flag - be it British, Scottish, Welsh, or even European Union - cluttering up the Albert Hall. And as a proportion of Proms events, it represents less than two per cent of the festival’s total output. If most Proms fans had their way, I’d wager, it probably wouldn’t happen at all.

Should we be discussing what Roger Wright, whose tenure as Proms supremo begins this year, should do to change (or even wind up) the Last Night? Perhaps. But he has no reason to sit down at his desk and fret about "common belongings".

For under his predecessor, Nicholas Kenyon, the Proms widened their remit hugely. They fielded full houses for Nitin Sawhney, Ravi Shankar and Cleo Laine. They opened up concert stages outside of London for spin-off events in Belfast, Glasgow and Swansea. Whole days have been devoted to amateur music-making, bringing youth choirs, brass bands and local orchestras together with professionals in inspiring displays of teamwork.

Most importantly, however, the Proms have provided everybody with the chance to hear the greatest orchestras, soloists and conductors in the world for just a fiver. Quintessentially British? No. Quintessentially excellent? You bet.

Explore Music

• CD Reviews

• Live Reviews

Editor's choice

• Vote for the Breakthrough Award winner
• David Tennant back as Hamlet after back surgery
• Matt Smith is the new Dr Who