The Subways and The Libertines Call For Universal Basic Income For Everyone In The Arts

A letter to the Chancellor has been signed by performers along with record labels, venues and other arts sector organisations.

The Green's deputy leader Amelia Womack sent the letter to Rishi Sunack today [xx] with Billy Lunn from the Subways, in a bid to encourage the government to consider a Universal Basic Income as part of measures being implemented as part of the recovery following the coronavirus lock down.

The letter points out that artists have continued creating (often for free, or at a vastly reduced rate) for our enjoyment during lock down, entertaining us from their homes while setting aside uncertainties about their own futures. Artists and performers are core to our cultural identity, heritage, mental health and help improve resilience in our communities.

Womack said, "It is vitally important that we support our artists, musicians and other performers who have kept spirits up with performances throughout the lockdown, despite often being worried about their own precarious financial situations.

"We have a history of undervaluing the entire arts and heritage sectors and those who work in them - both performing and behind the scenes.

"The Green Party has been campaigning for many years for a UBI. As the country recovers from the pandemic, we need support for this like never before. But particularly it's people with insecure incomes who need it the most and this includes people who add value to all our lives with the work they do to entertain and inspire us."

Billy Lunn (The Subways), "Following an extended period over which grassroots venues and community centres all across the UK have been closing at an unprecedented scale, and all whilst the Conservative government have ostensibly praised UK artists as both economic and cultural global exports (in 2019, the arts sector in the UK contributed £4.5 billion to the economy), the coronavirus pandemic has sent shockwaves of panic through the entire scope of the artistic community.

"Campaigns have, however, been successfully led to save music venues, beginning with the Music Venue Trust's #saveourvenues campaign, in which artists have dutifully and passionately engaged (raising vital funds that have saved beloved venues for so many communities), and eventually with Rishi Sunak MP's pledge of £1.5 billion to the arts sector (theatres, music venues, and museums).

"But how are these venues to be filled with the work that justifies their very purpose for being? This is why we believe the government should extend Universal Basic Income to those working within the arts, which extends not only to those who perform on the stages, but also to those without whom the show could never even come to fruition: the technicians, the producers, the directors, the promoters, the stage-hands - all of whom make up the 210,000 jobs in the arts sector.

"At a time when it is the arts that are getting us all through the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic with our sense of purpose of being intact, we must therefore be there for the arts when they need us the most."

Read the full letter below:

Dear Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP,

We are writing to you to welcome the announcement that the Government has promised £1.57 billion to the arts and heritage sectors.

Today we ask you to not only support the places, venues and organisations, but also the people who make arts possible. The performers, the musicians, the comedians, the technicians, the artists - people who are often in freelance or insecure working situations, those who don't qualify for the current relief and whose work is consistently undervalued.

Many communities often slip through the cracks of welfare support, especially during Covid19. We believe the best way to ensure all communities have the security needed, including the arts, is to introduce a universal basic income (UBI). A UBI would be a genuine lifeline to those who desperately need it during Coronavirus, as well as to ensure our country keeps creating beyond the pandemic.

Our arts, culture and heritage not only contributes to our economy, but the cultural value it brings to our country, society and communities is priceless.

Arts have been a lifeline of hope during the pandemic, and artists have continued creating (often for free, or at a vastly reduced rate) for our enjoyment during lock down, entertaining us from their homes while setting aside uncertainties about their own futures. Artists and performers are core to our cultural identity, heritage, mental health and help improve resilience in our communities.

Tours, gigs, events and performances have rightly been cancelled due to Coronavirus. On top of that, a high proportion of artists and cultural professionals supplement their income with casual work in the exact same industries that have been hit by Coronavirus, with many working part-time in hospitality. It is clear that lockdown has simply shone a light onto the way our industry operates with constant insecurity

This work is tough for those in the industry when so many don't have upfront funds to create their work, or build and develop it. For many of us, a UBI would bridge a gap of seasonal work and tour, for others it would be a support in additional training.

Working in culture has for too long been an option open only to people from more privileged backgrounds who have family support to pursue their dreams. If the UK is serious about being a fair and open society, then expressing this through access to the arts and the sharing of the resultant output is a powerful way of demonstrating that commitment.

To build back better than before we must ensure that everyone has the financial security that a UBI can provide, and help ensure that we are supporting the creativitivity of diverse communities, and define our generation.

Yours sincerely,

Amelia Womack - Green Party Deputy Leader

The Subways

The Charlatans

The Musicians Union

Rachel Parris

Art Brut

Jesus Jones

Bang Bang Romeo

Reverend and the Makers

Bernard Butler

The Libertines

Honeyblood

Personal Best

Spector

Ladybird

Potent Whisper

Saint Agnes

Polly James (Radio X)

Lliana Bird (Ex-Radio X/co-founder of Choose Love)

Rowena Alice (Riot Diet)

Boogaloo Radio

Alcopop Records

Shame

CATBEAR

Sean McGowan

Lots Holloway

Indian Queens

Quiet, The Art

Punka Club (Bristol)

Post Pop Records

She Wolf

Bobby Long

Tiger Mimic

The Dodge Brothers (feat. Mark Kermode)

Jacquelyn Hynes

UBI Lab Network

Dave Randall (Faithless/Slovo)

Emma Fordham (The Green Gathering festival)

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