So much hype surrounded this interview that once I had watched the trailer on Youtube I couldn’t help but think “Excellent” in a Mr. Burns fashion. This was it. The big tell-all where Brand was gonna ask the questions no journo had bothered to ask.
Milibrand was happening. Unfortunately, in the words of Ed, it ain’t gonna happen.
At least not all of it.
Let’s begin.
Ratings to Ed for actually going through with this chat (calling it an interview is a bit of a stretch). I imagine the Daily Mail had a field day not to mention Murdoch’s papers, on him dropping those t’s and merely entertaining Brand’s notion of democracy. #Parklife
Say what you like about his awkward flair and stabbing his brother in the back (N.B: had David Miliband been elected as leader of the opposition, it would have been him ‘stabbing’ Ed. Bottom line – get over it Kay Burley and co. you’re not their mum, you don’t need to go to family therapy or awkwardly sit around the passover table.) Ed knows charm. And charm Brand he did.
Bit strange really. Considering when Paxo interviewed Brand on Newsnight, Brand was almost flirting with Paxo with his mockney masculinity and tactile nature, so much so I think it threw Paxo at times.
In comparison Miliband was far less overt with his charm. That could be because of his placid nature, mind. #BBCLeadersDebate #MyNameIsShirley #YeahItIs #ISeeYouBoo
I can’t imagine Justine (his wife) was too happy after that cheeky stunt on Thursday night. Then again, I don’t think she was too happy with being told she was better off sticking her head in an oven. Tbf though, I wouldn’t really take expert advice off a woman willing to shag a married man in an open field.
Ed’s ability to listen and respond directly (which was a first, this election) meant Brand couldn’t actually go after him in a punitive manner. So he played it well even if some of his points felt like he was digging a hole to Australia… Why would you mention the Equal Pay Act (1970) when women are paid 77p of every pound a man makes?
This was something Brand obviously picked up on but Miliband’s point was progression could only be made by the union of people and politics. In a rather mechanical procedure, he argues progress can only come from people demanding change, politics responding but not all the way and people pushing on.
Why is the struggle so difficult? Why is it so easy for lobbyists to pass the interests of large corporations that pay 0.05% tax, when someone on a standard starting salary has to pay 20%? They’re basically mugging us right off. This is something Ed said he’d address…
Miliband used the Trewsers broken trust in politics to manoeuvre a vote in favour of Labour. Having said that I imagine Brand’s Trewsers are somewhat inclined to the left. Though at times it seemed he could have used more definitive examples, I think it shows he’s not all that airbrushed (it would be hard to be with #baconbuttiegate).
Politics has also benefited us too. The introduction of minimum wage, the women’s vote, education reform – particularly under the Blair years…and all of these support Ed’s argument that change can happen.
What I should stress is, he didn’t actually agree to change anything hence why what the media published last week is bullshit – this was not a concrete pledge (unlike his manifesto carved in stone) and whilst I admire his ‘can’t keep a good guy down too long’ spirit, I think some but certainly not all the changes he acknowledges will be dealt with under his government.
But like Ed said, change comes from people demanding it and pushing forth. I just don’t think it needs to be as difficult as he makes it out to be. If we voted for candidates that actually cared about the community they represent, we wouldn’t find ourselves being turfed out and socially cleansed in London or have such general apathy towards politics.
Ed did acknowledge the frustration of millions toiling under this facade coalition. So should he be elected as PM come Thursday, Brand can hold him to it and either prove the system is inherently bollocks, or Miliband will ensure change can and will occur. According to Brand “This guy will actually listen”.
Flashback to 2010 when Clegg-mania struck us like the wide-eyed hopeful students we were… we thought he’d listen. And listen he did, to the tune of the Tories #I’mJustSayin’
Basically, keep perspective. No one-man can change everything wrong in a society but identifying what needs to be changed and making some headway with it seems like a good start (Take note, Clegg).
Whilst I agree with Brand that people have become disenchanted by the disservice of our political system – I disagree entirely with not voting (and apparently he does too now #MilibrandPart2). Regardless, don’t mug yourself. No one will give a flying fuck about your protest against the system, not even your nan, because those that did decide to cross a box at the polling station will have their votes counted and their voices heard.
In order for this revolution to take place, everyone of voting age will either have to spoil their ballot or not bother turning up. As the daughter of a life-long Labour supporter, I can tell you now, that just ain’t gonna happen.
Democracy in the western world isn’t going anywhere. But our attitude towards it is changing. We’re starting to spit out the force-fed drivel politicians are plying us with. In the words of Kanye “We ain’t playin’ whichu no-mo!”
It’s about bloody time we stopped allowing these PPE studying, (predominantly) Privately educated, Oxbridge associated, Bullingdon Club members running the country based on the lives of people they know nothing about. #YouDon’tKnowMeEse
Vote for real people, who can make a real change. Kudos to Amina Lone for example, a single mum contesting the seat in Morecambe and Lunesdale, who knows what it’s like to live in depravity and come out the other side. She was on benefits raising two kids at the time and over the last 20 years managed to successfully co-found and establish the Social Action and Research foundation, which co-produces policy with communities to combat poverty and strengthen democracy. To make something of nothing that then goes on to improve the lives of others isn’t just admirable but proof that change, real change, can occur.
Lone, ironically, isn’t lone in knowing what social and economic deprivation is. Nearly a million of the working poor are forced to use food banks. Whilst spending on the NHS has increased under the coalition (£2.7bn), it’s gone towards sacking 8,000 nurses and having a top-down reorganisation. Frivolous spending isn’t exactly what we signed up for. And let us not forget cuts to disability benefits, which meant 60 people died because they could no longer afford a decent standard of living… in a developed country. Just let that sink in.
This might sound like alot of lefty lunacy but, as stated, I’m simply saying it like it is. I’m not saying don’t vote Tory – live your movie but, know that when you vote Conservative, you’re voting for extreme cuts on the most vulnerable in society for the next 5 years and they make no qualms about it. This is a choice you make. Whilst I agree the economy was in a dire situation in 2010 and any government would have been unpopular in such a situation, to relentlessly reward the very institutions that helped put us in that position is all kinds of foolishness.
Ed isn’t looking for the Thatcher hysteria (and hysterical we were) or the Blair euphoria – he wants change and he wants it now and so do we.
Sources:
All-Uneesa-Know 