Brexit: Keir Starmer backs EU visa waiver for touring musicians and artists

Sir Keir Starmer has said an incoming Labour government would look at arranging visa-free travel for touring musicians and artists to the European Union.

Since Brexit, musicians and bands have been hit with a multitude of admin and extra costs to tour on the continent. Many have moved to Europe, contributing to a cultural brain drain from the UK. Gus Unger-Hamilton from Mercury Prize-winning band Alt-J told NationalWorld that the UK music industry may “shrivel and eventually die” unless the government gives musicians more support.

Now the Labour leader has said he wants "to make it easier" for touring artists if his party forms the next government. Starmer told LBC: "These are brilliantly talented individuals in bands, groups, drama, you name it, who are going to other countries to perform often for a few days, then coming back or going to another country.

"They are nothing really to do with immigration, yet are simply going to play in other countries, and those other countries want them there. So we have to make that easier. It's been very tough, particularly for musicians. So anything we can do to ease that, the better."

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has already been pushing for this, with a spokesperson saying: "The inability of the government to reach an agreement with the EU on visa-free work for artists, performers, and staff is a prime example of the unnecessary bureaucracy that Brexit has brought with it, causing increased expense and a loss of business for UK performing artists. Ministers must urgently work with the EU to create a simple and less bureaucratic system that prevents long-term damage to our world-leading music industry.”

Earlier this year, NationalWorld reported on the Face the Music campaign, by the European Movement UK, which is calling on Rishi Sunak to negotiate visa-free travel for UK artists within the European Union, and vice-versa. A report by the Independent Society of Musicians found almost half of UK artists say they have had less work in Europe since Brexit, and more than a quarter have had no work at all.

Unger-Hamilton, keyboardist in the No1 band Alt-J, said that he backed the campaign, saying: “It doesn’t feel like it’s [Brexit] leading to the UK making the best of its amazing cultural assets. We’re a pretty small country but one thing we do have that people seem to want around the world is our culture, and music is a huge part of that.

“It seems like the government doesn’t seem bothered about it, or they think it’s going to sustain itself without any help, despite things getting harder and harder. It’s all very well and important to focus on maths and science in schools, but one of things the UK punches well above its weight in is in culture. Some of the biggest pop stars in the world are British, and that is something that doesn’t just happen by accident. It’s going to shrivel and eventually die if this government doesn’t eventually give musicians a bit of help.”

The European Movement UK says that Brexit has caused a talent drain on British music, from up-and-coming stars leaving Britain to live in Europe, to jobbing musicians who face being shut out of freelance work because they no longer hold an EU passport. It’s calling on the government to negotiate a bilateral agreement, which guarantees visa-free travel for UK artists in the EU and vice versa. The UK previously rejected a proposal from Brussels to exempt performers from the 90-day rules. James Henshaw, a rising star among conductors on the UK classical music scene, was forced to move from London to Germany in 2020 over Brexit. “I was forced to choose between my job and my country,” he said. “I knew that if I wanted to continue working, I couldn’t stay in the UK. I felt shut out. About 15% of my work before Brexit was in the UK, and the rest was from around the world – a lot from the EU. But after 2020, I could see that EU work drying up. So I had to move. I had to, to keep working.” 

Rachel Nicholls, a freelance British soprano in opera and concert, currently starring in The Handmaid’s Tale in London, said since leaving the EU her whole career has changed. “I used to do three or four jobs in the EU every year,” she explained. 

“Since Brexit, I’ve done just one EU job in seven years. Those jobs are still there, but now they’re going to artists who aren’t from the UK. The 90-day rule, and the visas you need, just mean UK musicians are not considered any more. 

The Department for Culture Media and Sport told NationalWorld that Secretary of State Lucy Frazer wants to go further in supporting musicians. A spokesperson said: "The overwhelming majority of EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers and other creative professionals.

"We are supporting the UK's brilliant artists to adapt to the new arrangements and continue to perform in the EU. The Culture Secretary has been clear that she wants to go further to support musicians to tour and we are working across government and with European partners to make further progress."

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.