Jeremy Corbyn is the latest guest on the 101 Part Time Jobs podcast, joining host Giles Bidder for a wide-ranging, thoughtful and humorous conversation about the political and social importance of music, his lifelong relationship with creativity, and his vision for a fairer, more musical Britain.
Corbyn also shares stories from his childhood skiffle band, assembled in an old barn using a homemade tea-chest bass: “You’d have a taut piece of string going down into it, and then you would do this on the string. ‘Boing, boing boing.’” With no neighbours nearby and no chance of an agent overhearing them, the group never took off. “If only a label had been there at the time, you know, we’d have done it,” he laughs. The band debated many names, settling on nothing – “probably something as anodyne as The Barn Band” – with Giles joking that their fans could have been called The Barnabys.
Throughout the episode, Corbyn continuously returns to the issue of access. “Why is it the private schools that do music and the state schools that are increasingly cutting it?” he asks. He outlines his proposed Pupil Arts Premium, a ring-fenced budget guaranteeing that every child learns a musical instrument, experiences theatre, and receives a rounded arts education. “If you don’t ring fence it, it won’t happen… music is a central part of our being, a central part of our understanding, and it brings people together.”
Asked what he would do to change the future of British music, he stresses the importance of building confidence in young people who may have been dismissed by teachers in the past. “There’s no such thing as non-musical. Everybody’s got ideas.” Supporting live venues is another priority – something he is already working toward through the Peace and Justice Project’s Music For The Many events. “Hopefully our contribution is a bit of yeast in the pot, which helps live music venues grow,” he says, noting the financial pressure on communities where rehearsal spaces and performance opportunities have become prohibitively expensive.
Corbyn is also candid about the realities facing musicians today: unstable income, limited venue access, and the challenge of earning money in an age of streaming. He describes the countless talented artists who give up after years of struggling: “We are all the weaker for that. Our society and our community and our whole lives are weakened.”
The episode also touches on schools, Ofsted, and community involvement in arts education. Corbyn calls the inspection system “too blunt, too brutal,” arguing for a model that supports schools rather than punishes them, and recognises the wealth of musical and artistic expertise already present in local communities. Corbyn speaks about politically outspoken artists such as KNEECAP and Bob Vylan, praising them for their clarity and conviction. “I’m not critical of [KNEECAP and Bob Vylan] at all, quite the opposite, but they’ve done it in a very good way,” he says. Asked about the role of artists in public life, he is direct: “Absolutely crucial. I think there’s nothing wrong whatsoever in an artist of any sort saying, ‘well, actually, I believe that what’s going on in Gaza is wrong’.”
Reflecting more broadly on why music matters, he describes it as both self-expression and communication. He explores how even the titles of classical pieces shape the listener’s understanding, how genres from electric folk to electronic music once faced controversy, and why open-mindedness is essential as technology and creativity evolve.
“Music is a marriage of ideas and technology… keep your mind open. Give it a go.”
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