-
backs letter
from leading musicians and deplores loss of soft power and
cultural influence
The Green Party has backed a letter from leading musicians
calling on the government to ensure musicians’ continued ability
to travel paperwork-free while they tour the EU in the
post-Brexit era.
The open letter, signed by 110 musical artists including
Radiohead and Ed Sheeran and addressed to the Culture Secretary
, would ensure touring musicians would not have to go
through the costly and bureaucratic process of gaining visas for
each country they travelled through. [1]
Green Party deputy leader said:
“The music industry is one of many that has been utterly failed
by this government that has broken its promise to ensure they
could move freely after Brexit..
“Not only is the music industry an essential sector of our
economy, it is also a vital part of our cultural standing in the
world and an important part of our soft power that is now more
important than ever. Radiohead and Ed Sheeran have done more to
enhance the reputation of Global Britain than a whole generation
of politicians.”
The Green Party supports the call from the Musicians’ Union (MU)
for a “musicians’ passport” that would cover all 27 EU members’
states, removing the need for multiple permits, and that would
also cover road crew and technicians.
Womack said:
“The long, bureaucratic process musicians currently have to face,
including domestic immigration checks and the possibility of
having to pay for multiple visas across the continent, means that
many will simply have to cease touring.
“This negotiating failure is another symptom of the Conservative
government’s xenophobic blind-spot when it comes to freedom of
movement. Its refusal to see this as a reciprocal right and one
that is vital to our economy is hitting musicians as it has
already hit lawyers, doctors, academics and the many others who
used to travel freely across a labour-market of half a billion
people.”
ENDS
Notes
1
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/more-than-100-music-stars-attack-brexit-deal-687znfk66
