Tony Blair Is Really Confused By Russell Brand's Politics

Tony Blair Is Really Confused By Russell Brand
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Russell Brand attends the Pride of Britain awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel on October 6, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 06: Russell Brand attends the Pride of Britain awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel on October 6, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Mike Marsland via Getty Images

Tony Blair is perplexed by Russell Brand. "I literally don't know what it means," the former prime minister has said of the comedian's political manifesto.

Blair told a BBC Radio 4 documentary about democracy, hosted by the broadcaster's political editor Nick Robinson, that Brand's call for an economic and political revolution in Britain did not really make sense.

"I haven't studied a lot of what the Russell Brand stuff really means. I suspect if you implemented that or tried to implement that as a government, I literally don't know what it means," the former prime minister said.

"There is a whole swathe of the public that thinks, 'I elect my government, you guys go and govern, don't keep troubling me every three seconds'."

Blair added that a lot of voters "want to see their leaders leading" rather than trying to constantly asking what should be done. "You've got to challenge them sometimes," he said. "What they actually want for you to make their lives better."

Robinson himself has previously said he "has got a bit of a beef with Brand" for recommending that people do not vote. The BBC political editor told the Radio Times that "in this election year I am an unapologetic believer in elections".

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