Why Boris Johnson will ignore Elton John and break his Brexit promise to touring musicians

Angry stars screaming ‘betrayal’ should not expect a Marcus Rashford-style U-turn, writes Rob Merrick

Rocket man: Sir Elton has blasted the new rules (Reuters)

On the face of it, an alliance of Elton John, Simon Rattle, members of Oasis, Queen and The Who, and so many other stars, should be making No 10 very nervous in the row over the horror of post-Brexit touring permits.

After all, this is the government that keeps caving in to potshots from the footballer Marcus Rashford – so it will do the same when the giants of the music scene protest, won’t it?

Midge Ure, the Ultravox frontman, even warned the UK is heading “back to the 1970s” – a phrase to make any government shudder – when “touring in Europe was a nightmare”.