I'm across the pond, and have no specific knowledge of British or Irish pub history. That disclaimer given, I wonder if the politician who made the original statement about "No tradition of music in pubs" was influenced by the relatively modern perception of music as a performing art to be conducted only by paid professionals for a passive audience, rather than a participatory community activity.

With the rise of radio and television, fewer people feel comfortable about making music themselves. The music "industry" encourages people to think of music as something to purchase rather than to be made. The politician who made the ignorant statement may be unfamiliar (or not care) about the wealth of social interactions when people got together to sing or play musical instruments for the sheer joy of it rather than because they were paid entertainers...