Naomi Pohl, the Musicians’ Union (MU) General Secretary, has joined the call for a general election following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss.
In an article on the MU website, she accused the government of being in ‘utter disarray’ and called for an election to restore stability.
Despite attending the Conservative Party conferences, at the most recent of which the Brodsky Quartet entertained delegates, the union has had little success working with either the Johnson or Truss administrations.
Johnson’s Brexit negotiations have caused huge damage to musicians’ livelihoods when he left the music touring industry out of the Brexit agreement. ‘I represented the Union on panels at both Labour and Conservative Conferences discussing ways to improve the UK-EU relationship,’ Pohl wrote, but she expressed frustration at the lack of support the Johnson’s ministers had offered.
His culture secretary, Nadine Dorries also refused to meet the union to discuss the matter. They have yet to have a response from the latest Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Michelle Donelan MP, though they have had productive meetings with her Labour shadow, Lucy Powell MP and the Labour leader, Keir Starmer.
