Last month, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Jme met up to discuss UK politics and encourage young people to register to vote. The video quickly went viral, but Jeremy's pledge to support UK music hasn't stopped there. In an interview with the Independent, Corbyn promised that Labour intend to reduce the number of venue closures, numbers which have soared in the past few years.
"What you have is a number of independent venues, sometimes pubs, cafes, so on, that have become almost informal live music venues," Corbyn explained, "and the small cafe does well and 'hey presto' along comes Costa, Starbucks, Nero or something to take it over."
He added: "[It's] the same with pubs, which are often very reluctant to have live music on. Those live venues are absolutely crucial to the future of the music scene. So the £1,000 pub-licensing rebate is a good thing — we want to extend that a lot further."
When asked about his support from Jme, Novelist, Stormzy and the like, he said, "I think what they see in us is a preparedness to engage in youth and do something for young people as a whole. It’s a sense of hope from us."
The UK’s general election takes place tomorrow (June 8). Don't forget!
