Comic Russell Brand says the rise of Jeremy Corbyn is a 'great thing' and claims HE was partly responsible for the Labour leader's election surge

  • Brand defended past controversial comments saying there is no point in voting
  • Claimed he helped kick start left-wing revolution which resulted in Corbyn's rise
  • Appeared to take a jobe at May dubbing her a 'bizarre automaton technocrat'

Russell Brand last night hailed the rise of Jeremy Corbyn is a 'great thing' and said he was partly responsible for the Labour leader's election surge.

The comedian said he was speaking out for many people when he said two years ago there was no point in voting.

He claimed the comments helped kick start the surge in left-wing politics which swept Mr Corbyn to the Labour leadership and his recent election success.

And he took a swipe at Theresa May who he appeared to describe as an 'automaton technocrat lunatic with a rictus grin staring at you out of the pages of a Quentin Blake book'.

Russell Brand last night said hailed the surge in Jeremy Corbyn's popularity a 'great thing' and said his past assertion that there was no point in voting helped kick start the left-wing surge which led to Mr Corbyn's election as Labour leader 

Russell Brand, pictured in December 2014 leading residents in London's East End in a protest against a US investment firm's plans to evict residents form a housing estate. He was a regular face on the left-wing protest scene for several years 

Russell Brand, pictured in December 2014 leading residents in London's East End in a protest against a US investment firm's plans to evict residents form a housing estate. He was a regular face on the left-wing protest scene for several years 

The comedian and serial protester defended proudly telling voters not to bother with elections in controversial comments made in early 2015.

He told the BBC's Newsnight programme: ‘It was a reaction to politics at that time which was – I think subsequently it has been borne out that a lot of people felt similarly that they were not being offered viable alternatives.

‘And subsequent to me saying partisan politics is meaningless we have seen a huge lurch to the right, we have seen Brexit, we have seen the rise of Jeremy Corbyn.

‘I don’t think I was some kind of soothsayer…I was simply taking the temperature and speaking on behalf of a lot of people.’

He denied it was 'irresponsible' to us this popularity to discourage voting, and said it helped fuel the shift in politics which has seen Mr Corbyn's popularity surge and the Tories take a pummeling. 

Russell Brand took an apparent swipe at Theresa May - pictured giving a speech at the UN in New York yesterday - appearing to describe her as a 'bizarre automaton technocrat'

Russell Brand took an apparent swipe at Theresa May - pictured giving a speech at the UN in New York yesterday - appearing to describe her as a 'bizarre automaton technocrat'

He said: ‘As a matter of fact, in my more optimistic moments I hope it may in some small way have contributed to what we have subsequently seen.

‘The Labour Party electing a leader that is engaged and engaging, that is authentic and truthful and that is listening to people, and that seems to be like a human being who connects, not some bizarre automaton technocrat lunatic with a rictus grin staring at you out of the pages of a Quentin Blake book.

‘Like a real human.

‘So I think it’s a great thing.’

The comedian spent several years championing left-wing causes and was often s seen leading protesters marching through central London on weekend demonstrations.

But Mr Brand, who last year welcomed his first child with his now wife Laura Gallacher, has not been as publicly politically active recently.

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