WATCH: Rishi Sunak basically just told struggling musicians and artists to retrain and get a real job [VIDEO]
The Tory Chancellor has been slammed after effectively telling British musicians and those working in the arts industry who are struggling to find work because of the ongoing pandemic that they should simply find a different job in another sector. Speaking to ITV News, Sunak confirmed that professionals working in the creative sector who are still unable to work due to the effects of the ongoing pandemic would not be provided with any additional government support as such jobs were supposedly now unviable. When asked whether people working in the arts should simply try and find another job in a different sector, Sunak said:
"It's a very sad time. [...] I can't pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job that they were doing at the beginning of this crisis. That's why we've put a lot of our extra resource into trying to create new opportunities for people. "
And, when pressed further about whether he was really telling creatives to simply "go and get a different job" in a different sector, Sunak responded by saying:
"That is fresh and new opportunity for people. That's exactly what we should be doing."
(You can watch Sunak's highly controversial comments about musicians and creatives in the video below) https://vimeo.com/465370302 The UK is world-renowned for music and the arts, and the Chancellor's implication that the industry doesn't really matter and that musicians and artists should essentially retrain and find work in a new sector has unsurprisingly caused fury amongst creatives on social media. https://twitter.com/badly_drawn_boy/status/1313430558022742016?s=20 https://twitter.com/Beathhigh/status/1313427088683290626 https://twitter.com/sueperkins/status/1313432033897730048?s=20 https://twitter.com/MrStevenCree/status/1313440503187279872?s=20 https://twitter.com/cononeilluk/status/1313429785654235136?s=20 https://twitter.com/Laura_Groves_/status/1313442601543102465?s=20 https://twitter.com/TulipSiddiq/status/1313439880983216129?s=20 https://twitter.com/squeezyjohn/status/1313442251377438727?s=20 https://twitter.com/QueerRiley/status/1313442963872190465?s=20 https://twitter.com/hannah_wants/status/1313442346034515968?s=20 https://twitter.com/BarnabyEdwards/status/1313444013094166528?s=20 The government's Job Retention Scheme (widely known as the Furlough Scheme) is set to end on October 31st, and will be replaced by the Job Support Scheme. The Furlough Scheme initially guaranteed workers 80% of their wages if they were unable to work because of the effects of the ongoing pandemic - with the amount tapering down to 70% in September and 60% in October. However, the government's new Job Support Scheme will drastically reduce support to a maximum of just 22% on November 1st. Furthermore, the new scheme stipulates that employees must work at least a third of their normal hours to be eligible, and it also forces employers to pay workers for hours they haven't actually worked. Unsurprisingly, the new scheme has been criticised across the board, with many pointing out that it actually makes re-employing workers on a part time basis more expensive for employers - meaning at least a million jobs will almost certainly be lost when it comes into effect. Shortly after the announcement of his new scheme, Sunak also refused to guarantee that unemployment would not reach four million as a result of the drastic change.
ITV Tweet Controversy
As we have been writing this piece, ITV have deleted their viral tweet reporting Sunak's controversial comments about musicians and creatives. It is understood that Sunak's office contacted ITV after their tweet - which correctly stated that he had effectively told musicians and creatives to retrain and get another job - went viral, gaining more than 7,000 angry quote tweets. In addition to deleting their entirely accurate tweet, ITV have also since changed the headline and the main thrust of their article, as well as posting a new clarification tweet claiming that Sunak's comments were supposedly "not specifically about the music or arts sectors": https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/1313449207995535362?s=20 In addition, Mr Sunak has also tweeted to claim that ITV's tweet "falsely suggested I thought people in arts should retrain and find other jobs." https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1313450376394412033?s=20 However, as you can watch in the video of him making the comments above, Sunak does precisely that: https://twitter.com/frittaker/status/1313443408657223680?s=20 https://twitter.com/ClientJournoExp/status/1313447266510934016?s=20 https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/1313443643844423700 Unlike the mainstream media, Evolve Politics will never be afraid to report the truth - even if we are threatened by the rich and powerful.