I’ve spent the day at a conference called Victorian Futures which is exploring the ways in which ideas and ideals of the 1830s which led to the Great Reform Bill and the Select Committe on Arts and Manufactures have continued to influence the action and rhetoric surrounding all subsequent government cultural initiatives, including the Great Exhibition, many aspects of the South Kensington Museum (Henry Cole was an ardent utilitarian), the Festival of Britain, and now, it is suggested, Olympicopolis.   I was sceptical of the latter until I heard that Boris Johnson’s original idea for the Arcelor Tower was to produce a version of Trajan’s Column.   And listening to Kieran Long talk about the V&A’s plans for the Olympic Park made me think that he is a reincarnation of Cole in his beliefs in the power of display, the politics of objects, and the Museum’s social mission.