D:Ream ban Labour from using Things Can Only Get Better in election campaign
The pop band behind New Labour’s 1997 anthem Things Can Only Get Better has banned Sir Keir Starmer from using the song in the election.
D:Ream’s founding members Alan Mackenzie and Peter Cunnah said they were dismayed to hear their number one hit play through a loudspeaker as Rishi Sunak announced he was calling a general election on 4 July.
The pair told LBC their first thought was: “Not again.”
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Things Can Only Get Better started blaring around two minutes into the PM’s speech
“The fact that it’s gone back to a political thing, I find disturbing. I was thinking, can we get on with our lives? But now it’s come back,” Cunnah said, speaking from his recording studio at home in Donegal.
“You question, are we just some sort of protest song on a speaker down at the end of a street? It’s like some very odd piece of gravity that you just can’t escape.”
But Sir Keir brushed off the snub, telling LBC: “Well, look, we’re not in 1997. We’re in 2024.
“The choice before the country is absolutely stark. We’ve had now 14 years of chaos and division. And if the Tories get back in there’s just going to be more of the same.
“We can turn the page, we can start anew, rebuild our country with Labour. And we will have a song for that moment if we’re privileged enough to come in to serve.”
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‘I don’t think politics and music should be linked’
The band also expressed regret over letting Sir Tony Blair use their track during his election campaign in 1997, saying they were accused of “having blood on their hands” after the UK got involved with the war in Iraq.
“I remember clearly, there was this wonderful sea change, and the nation had this feeling that there was a need for change,” Cunnah said.
“Everyone was really behind it and giving Labour the benefit of that doubt. But after the war, I became politically homeless.”
Mackenzie, who spoke to LBC from his home in the Midlands, said: “I don’t think politics and music should be linked.
“It’s happened to a lot of other bands as well in America and here because songs get sort of intrinsically linked to something, it can really affect it in a negative way.
“I mean, I’ll be voting to get the Tories out, but I don’t really want the song to be linked to that.”
‘Our songs and politics, never again’
Asked what they would say if Sir Keir requested to use one of their songs, Mackenzie said: “There’s no way – our songs and politics, never again.”
“I’ve learned the hard way. No, no, no,” Cunnah agreed.
“This is a change of guard, I don’t see this as an election. It’s just a change of guard, someone handing the baton on.”
Physicist Brian Cox was the original keyboard player in D:Ream
D:Ream’s original line-up also included Professor Brian Cox, but the group split up shortly after New Labour’s 1997 victory.
Cunnah and Mackenzie reunited in 2008 and are preparing to perform at Glastonbury this summer.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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