Sir Keir Starmer’s Private Passions appearance is part love-letter to music, part soft-focus politics. He’s evidently warm in his advocacy of music education, but the committment is light on detail, for obvious reasons.
News on Friday, released under strict embargo, announced that Sir Keir Starmer will pop up on Private Passions on Sunday 26 October. It’s unusual that Radio 3’s extended version of Desert Island Discs warrants such a press release. Presumably BBC management, keen to trumpet their top billing, feared that with the clocks going back, those last remaining stalwarts who insist on listening live might miss the broadcast by an hour.
It’s a big deal for Radio 3 management, who were understandably keen to articulate privilege, pride and whatever else works for having secured two hours of the Prime Minister’s time for a pre-record with presenter Michael Berkley. That makes sense. No one needs to be churlish about it.
Given what’s happening internationally, and what isn’t happening in terms of music education and funding for the arts, one wonders whether the shameless self-promotion risks sounding a little tin-eared.
The timing of this interview, recorded last week (13 – 19 October), is interesting given the weekend of its broadcast comes the day after the election of the Labour Party’s deputy leader — a moment presumably for Sir Keir Starmer to re-establish his premiership at a point when it’s struggling in popularity. Such interviews aren’t arranged at the last minute. It must have been planned for a while — at least since it was known a deputy-leader election was coming. None of this is coincidence. Sir Keir Starmer on Private Passions was as much an opportunity to articulate his messaging around music (and other policy points) as it was an opportunity to shine a spotlight on Radio 3. One hand washes the other.
The Labour Government’s rhetoric (Bachtrack) is marginally more reassuring than the 2022 National Plan that went before it, though according to one writer on Bachtrack — who apparently didn’t want a byline — there remains a £161 million funding gap between intention and reality. Just this past week, news broke of the Government’s plan to cut music-teacher training bursaries (ISM). Yes, equitable access to music education is important, but we can’t make it easy in any way feasible to train so that you facilitate that opportunity. A coherent, consistent music policy would align commentators on success and transformation. There appears little evidence of that so far. The difference in unequivocal support from the arts sector would hark back to the glorious anticipation Thangam Debonair effortlessly whipped up at the ABO Conference in 2024.
Michael Berkley picks up on the music-education issue with questions that are tautly scripted and matched by well-prepared responses. Starmer returns to familiar ground — the need to fund instruments, to ensure music counts in the curriculum, and to break down any sense that classical music is only for certain types of children. And whilst Starmer’s acknowledgment that “music should be available,” in response to Berkley’s reference to Ed Sheeran asking for £250 million to be invested in music in schools, demonstrates good intentions, the detail is hollow. Inevitably, if there is to be investment in music education, more focus needs to be given to in-curriculum provision. At present, there’s £22.5 million over three years for 400 schools (GOV.UK), giving pupils access to extra-curricular activities including music — welcome, but limited to after-school enrichment rather than the classroom itself. Inevitably, there’s nothing that can be said about anything additional until the Budget anyway. One shouldn’t look pessimistically, but it’s difficult not to. Actions speak louder than words.
Challenged on how the number of students signing up for GCSE or A-Level music (something Starmer studied himself) might be increased, the Prime Minister replied, “To be fair we need to signal what an A-Level in music will give you. Where does that take them? We will more likely have more young people doing A-Level music if we tell them where it will take them.” Studies then need to justify their future value. Again, well-meant but infuriating. On post-Brexit conditions for touring musicians, Berkley sums up Starmer’s position for him: “So you’ll keep on fighting then?” “Yes,” replies Starmer, “I’ll keep on fighting.”
Starmer is heartfelt. There is no question that he is authentic in his love of classical music and that he is an advocate for the industry. But, like so much of the Starmer premiership, there’s a lot of good mood music but seemingly little action. No one denies it’s a bit tough, and we should all probably be a little more patient, what with the economy and all that. But if memory serves Thoroughly Good correctly, senior ministers usually crop up on touchy-feely output at the end of their roles, not mid-way. This was PR that suited Starmer’s team very well. But it doesn’t move the dial, and it doesn’t necessarily leave us with much hope.
