General Election 2015: Ed Miliband backed by Russell Brand
Ed Miliband has received the public backing of Russell Brand, who pulled an about-turn by encouraging his followers to vote Labour at the General Election.
The comedian and activist, who famously told Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight that he'd never voted "and never will", told his followers to back Miliband in a new YouTube video featuring unseen footage from his interview with the Labour leader.
The decision to appear on Brand's "Trews" show was ridiculed by Prime Minister David Cameron who described the comedian as "a joke", however Miliband said he was right to "reach out of the comfort zone" and speak to Brand's followers who did not have plans to vote.
Read more: Russell Brand steals Ed Miliband’s limelight in The Trews interview
Read more: Ed Balls defends "Milibrand" interview
In the new video released today, Brand instructed his followers: "On May 7th; Vote Labour" – unless they were Scottish or lived in Brighton Pavillion (Brand said "it would be a shame" to lose Green MP Caroline Lucas).
Miliband's idea that "you've got to have a politics that is rooted again in communities" is apparently what convinced the former Hollywood star to pin a red ribbon to his chest.
Brand said:
Ed Miliband said something very important that we need a kind of politics where communities are involved, where communities are engaged…One thing I agree very sincrely with Ed on is that politics doesn't rain down on us, it comes from below, movements putting pressure on governments.
For me what that means is that Ed Miliband understands is that people are p*ssed off…I know I've been "Mr. Don't Vote" but actually what mean is politics isn't something we can only be involved in every five years, democracy is for every day, not just elections.