If mayor Boris thinks it is just a question of time before he gets his way over the Arts Council in London, he is in for a bumpy ride. And if he thinks installing his culture adviser Munira Mirza as interim chair, pending the long-term appointment of his chosen candidate Veronica Wadley, he is in for an even greater surprise.

Rarely have I seen such immediate and palpable arts world fury. And they are bedding in to take the fight right to the wire if necessary. For what very senior arts world figures have been shocked to discover is that Boris either does not understand or does not care about the principle that has been the sacred bedrock of arts-government relations since the war - the arm’s length principle that seeks to separate party politics from arts policy.

Many in the arts world were surprised that the mayor had the right to direct the arts in London at all. And of course, he doesn’t really. What, since last year, the rules permit him is the right to nominate the chair of the Arts Council in London. Boris has been stamping his feet ever since the Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw, who rules dictate has to ratify the appointment, refused to accept Ms Wadley, saying the choice was not made in accordance with Nolan principles.

Any interim chair also has to be sanctioned by the Culture Secretary - and it is hard to imagine how a political choice like Ms Mirza could be accepted. Besides, I am being told, a temporary political appointment would be far from satisfactory when the London chair sits on the national Arts Council ruling body which has important budgetary meetings for 2011-2012 as early as next month.

Political machinations have been afoot in the story from the start, for key details of the row appear to have been leaked by from sources close to the Culture Secretary himself. If so, that is hardly to his credit.
But for the last 12 years the Tories have been objecting to the alleged politicisation of the arts and raging that arts bodies have had to dance to a Labour tune of wider access and greater diversity to extract funding. It ill behoves them to ride roughshod through due process now.