A host of musicians have responded to Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s comments that people in the arts should “retrain” for other jobs.

The chancellor of the exchequer has caused uproar with his remarks about what people working in the arts should do as the industry struggles with the coronavirus pandemic.

Yesterday he told ITV News “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 resource into trying to create new opportunities”.

He went on to concede that unemployment is “likely to increase” but stressed the government is “trying to do everything we can to protect as many jobs as possible.

Asked whether he was suggesting some of the UK’s “fabulous musicians and artists and actors” should get another job,  he responded: “as in all walks of life everyone’s having to adapt”.

He added: “Can things happen in exactly the way they did? No. But everyone is having to find ways to adapt and adjust to the new reality.”

At a time when the future of live music is under serious threat, thousands of jobs are at stake and unemployment figures continue to rise, Sunak seems completely unfazed by the dystopian reality our creative industries are facing. His comments have rightly and appropriately caused uproar with many artists taking to social media to express their disgust. See responses from the likes of Liam Gallagher, Mogwai, KT Tunstall, Sam Fender and more below.

In the meantime, we encourage you to support your local music scene and your favourite artists in whatever what you can; buy their music and merchandise, watch out for Bandcamp promos and share your favourite tunes far and wide.

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