Russell Brand Decided To Back Labour Before Ed Miliband Interview, He Reveals

Turns Out It Wasn't The Miliband Interview That Persuaded Russell Brand To Back Labour
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Russell Brand has revealed he decided to back Labour In the General Electionbefore his hugely-publicised interview with Ed Miliband.

After advocating people don't vote, Brand endorsed the Labour party in England and Wales - except in Brighton Pavilian where he urged people to back the Greens' Caroline Lucas - after interviewing the Labour leader for the show.

But he has now revealed it wasn't Miliband's answers to his questions that convinced him to endorse a party.

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Miliband being interviewed in Brand's kitchen

"In the episode of The Trews in which I interviewed Ed Miliband there is no Damascene moment," he wrote in a blog published today.

"I did not tumble back in a white beam of enlightened reverie, scales falling, realising that the Westminster machine, with a different pilot will serve ordinary people. We decided to endorse Labour before we approached them for the interview.

"The simple truth is I don’t have a 'ready to wear' system of government to offer people on May 8th and neither does anyone else I’ve yet spoken to."

It is unclear whether Brand himself will be voting - he didn't specifically say he would and his long-standing refusal to vote suggests he isn't register - the deadline to do so in time to vote on Thursday has long passed.

He added: "My recommendation that people vote Labour is an optimistic punt that the degeneration of Britain will be slowed down and the lives of the most vulnerable will be a little more bearable than they’ve been under the Tories.

"Nothing more ambitious than that.

"It will take serious activism, committed action comparable to the sacrifice of those whose memories are continually evoked as a spur for us to vote."

He concluded: "I fully understand that real change, real democracy is not something that can be palmed off in a booth twice a decade, a crossed box and crossed fingers. Democracy is for life, not just elections.

During the interview, Miliband was accused of adopting Brand's "mockney" tone with phrases like: "You gotta do it."

He also played down the scale of change he could bring about by being prime minister, saying "I'm not looking for euphoria".

"I think we're in a world where people are passed the idea of - this bloke comes along and he says vote for Ed Miliband and if I'm on Downing Street on day one, life is kind of totally turned upside down. Firstly I don't think people want it and secondly I don't think people would believe it," he said.

"I'm not looking for euphoria, I know that sounds a bit weird. Obviously I want to get rid of the Tory government and that's going to be a very good thing for the country."

David Cameron attacked Miliband for doing the interview before it aired, saying both he and Brand were a "joke".

Brand fired back with this tweet, which mocked Cameron forgetting which football team he supported and