Commons people: when politics and music collide

From Glastonbury performers to classical music buffs, Westminster has always been packed full of music obsessives. But the music industry has not always been so obsessed with politicians. Who could forget Stormzy calling out Theresa May over Grenfell or Elton John calling Keir Starmer’s government “absolute losers”?

So this week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O’Sullivan finds out what how important the cultural capital of the music industry is to SW1. She talks to boss of music lobby PRS organisation and former Longpigs frontman Crispin Hunt about Tony Blair being buoyed to success during the Britpop era.

Corbyn advisor James Schneider reflects on Grime4Corbyn in 2017 and explains how important Stormzy leading the “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” chant was as a cultural moment.

James Frith, Labour MP and former frontman of Finka, who once performed Glastonbury, takes Sascha inside the political scene at the music festival.

Caroline Dinenage, chair of the culture select committee and former Tory culture minister, told Sascha the music industry was often ungrateful to Conservative politicians, saying they probably said “f*** the Tories” under their breath even after billions of pounds in pandemic-era support.

And she takes Sascha inside the current row over artificial intelligence and the music industry. She said Technology Secretary Peter Kyle was initially “arrogant” and “swallowed the A.I. kool-aid”.

Lord Brennan, Labour peer who was part of the Lord’s recent rebellion over AI and is currently leading a fan-led review into music, says the intervention of top musicians can help move the dial and he tells a story of teaming up with Billy Bragg to exact policy change over guitars in jails.