By Sam Murray, Musicians’ Union activist and European Movement member.
They have been deceiving us! This week it was revealed that ministers misled the public at least five times – telling them that visa-free tours for musicians like me were impossible, when the opposite is true.
The government’s refusal to strike a deal to rescue visa-free touring of the EU leaves performers facing prohibitive costs and a mountain of red tape – despite it being legally possible for them to have reached such an agreement.
Now that Boris Johnson’s claim that he is going to resolve the Brexit crisis for musicians has been revealed as a sham, we cannot let his government get away with this.
It is vital that we maintain the pressure on them to reach a deal for the UK's world-beating music industry.
The barriers that have been put up make it harder for musicians like me to tour the EU, and will force many of us to give up touring altogether. Right now, different paperwork and permits are required for each different EU country. All equipment is subject to checks at each border, and the same goes for crew. This will add significant costs for touring musicians, and make it a pipe dream for many acts to tour the EU, especially for emerging talents.
So please, make a noise for musicians and call on your MP to support visa-free touring for all artists throughout the whole of the EU.
On Friday the European Movement is having its #StoriesofBrexit Action Day – where you can sit down with your MP and tell them to support musicians like me. Please take this chance to tell your MP about how Brexit is threatening our livelihoods and ask that they take action.