Harry Potter Actor Daniel Radcliffe Brands Politics As 'Disillusioning, Bickering And Exhausting'

Daniel Radcliffe Brands Politics As 'Disillusioning And Exhausting'

First it was Russell Brand who declared he wanted a "revolution" as he tongue lashed politics for creating a "disenfranchised, disillusioned underclass".

Now, it seems, he has recruited an unlikely disciple in the shape of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe.

While Radcliffe doesn't go as far as Brand (who claims he'll never vote), he does echo the feeling that conventional, traditional party politics lacks relevance.

A spell of trouble: 'Politics is disillusioning; it's just bickering, it's exhausting'

The 24-year-old told the Radio Times that he was disillusioned by the British political process.

"I'm not an affiliate of any party. I do vote - I think it's important. The first time I voted, I felt I had graduated as a full member of society," he said.

"But politics is disillusioning; it's just bickering, it's exhausting. I think the next thing I'm going to get excited about is Eddie Izzard running for London mayor.

"He's really interesting, super-smart and brings a huge amount of integrity - something that we definitely don't have today."

Brand took on Paxo... and the established social order

When Radcliffe, at 18, said he would vote for the Liberal Democrats, he received a letter from Nick Clegg and the pair later met.

"He asked me to come and help out with youth policy and I was like 'No, no, no, I do not speak for my generation!'," he told the magazine.

Radcliffe, who mentioned voting Labour a few years later, added: "You know what? Like everybody else, I changed my mind."

Last month, Brand's comments on Newsnight to Jeremy Paxman went viral.

During an exchange, Brand told Paxo that he has never voted, and he never will. Why? Because the political system has created a "disenfranchised, disillusioned underclass".

"I am not that I am not voting out of apathy," said the 38-year-old. "I am not voting out of absolute indifference and weariness and exhaustion from the lies, treachery and deceit of the political class that has been going on for generations."

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