All these celebrity Jeremy Corbyn fans might surprise you

Which ce-Labour-ities have voiced support for Corbyn?

A look at the national newspapers of Britain reveals that within the media at least, the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, doesn’t appear to have that many influential supporters.

And despite surging to victory in the leadership election last September with a landslide 60% of the vote, almost all of that support comes from the wider membership of the Labour Party rather than from the Parliamentary Labour Party.

The overall picture is a gloomy one for Corbyn, but London Loves Business has put together an intriguing list of all the celebrities that have, at some point at least, shown some level of support for him.

Shia LaBeouf

The actor from the universally acclaimed Transformers films normally delivers lines such as: “Not so tough without a head, are you?” But following Corbyn’s win in September LaBeuf declared: “I like Jeremy Corbyn. I like him in every way.

“British politics just got very exciting,” he added.

Daniel Radcliffe

The Harry Potter actor praised Corbyn, saying it was “just so nice to have people excited about somebody.

“It seems to be more or less because they are excited about sincerity. I think we all suddenly realised that we are so used to politicians lying. Even when they are being sincere, it feels so scripted that it is hard to get behind them.”

Martin Freeman

The Hobbit and Sherlock star said out of the four contenders for the Labour leadership, Corbyn was “most impressive one as an individual” – though he added: “It’s always the best of a bad lot in politics.”

Bianca Jagger

Human rights activist and former actor Bianca Jagger has been a vocal critic of the incumbent government and has occasionally put in a good word for Corbyn.

Morrissey

Pop star Morrissey has a lot in common with the vegetarian, pacifist Labour leader. While the former Smiths front man didn’t directly endorse Corbyn, he did get the crowd at one of his gigs pumped before oddly saying Corbyn will be assassinated.

@elltell …Morrissey shares your thoughts on Jeremy Corbyn last night pic.twitter.com/1TKr1nDBbI

— Jane Louise (@ourjanie) September 16, 2015

 

Alan Bennett

Celebrated playwright Alan Bennett – the man behind The History Boys – is a staunch opponent of the Tories, and has said he “very much approves” of Corbyn. Speaking to the Guardian in October, he said: “I approve of him. If only because it brings Labour back to what they ought to be thinking about.”

Jolyon Rubinstein

The frontman from the BBC programme The Revolution Will Be Televised think’s Corbyn’s the man to lead the charge.

Brian Eno

The musician wrote a whole opinion piece in the Guardian on his support for Corbyn, saying the Labour leader has spent many years sticking to his principles. “He’s been doing this with courage and integrity and with very little publicity,” Eno said.

“This already distinguishes him from at least half the people in Westminster, whose strongest motivation seems to have been to get elected, whatever it takes.”

Charlotte Church

The singer and activist is a well-known Labour supporter. In a post on her blog, she said: “He is one of the only politicians of note that seems to truly recognise the dire inequality that exists in this country today and actually have a problem with it. There is something inherently virtuous about him, and that is a quality that can rally the support of a lot of people, and most importantly, a lot of young people.”

Maxine Peake

Star of Channel 4 drama Shameless, and The Theory of Everything, award winning actor Maxine Peake has written in the socialist newspaper The Morning Star, that Corbyn can put Labour “back on track”.

Owen Jones

The Guardian columnist was an early supporter of Corbyn, and has stuck by his man, appearing at Corbyn’s rallies in the lead up to his successful leadership bid.

Mary Beard

Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, and rising TV personality Mary Beard has voiced admiration for Corbyn on several occasions. In December, she said: “I think he’s having a pretty rough time. He’s behaving with a considerable degree of dignity given that.”

Russell Brand

In a video on his Trews YouTube channel, the comedian and actor asked people who they’d rather have running the country, Corbyn or Tony Blair. After famously calling for people not to vote, supporting Ed Miliband at the general election and then going back on it later, Brand was clearly wary of supporting Corbyn saying: “So, you know, bloody hell! Jeremy Corbyn would be a better kind of new Labour. The fear would be, can party politics ever impact the will of the people?”

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

The Argentinian president said Corbyn’s victory in the Labour leadership election was a “triumph of hope”.  She said he was a “great friend to Latin America”.

Jeremy Corbyn is a great friend of Latin America and shares, in solidarity, our demands for equality and political sovereignty.

— Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) September 12, 2015

David Tennant

Ok, David Tennant hasn’t said he supports Corbyn, but while hosting everyone’s favourite political quiz Have I Got News For You, he hit out at the media’s treatment of Corbyn through the medium of well-timed sarcasm.

Yanis Varoufakis

In October 2015, the former Greek finance minister said he had been advising Corbyn’s people after his party Syriza rose quickly to be elected into government but were seen not to be handling the economy well enough and many of the cabinet were replaced. Of Corbyn’s Labour, he said: “They need more time to get their act together. They were just propelled into the limelight like we were very suddenly – they didn’t even expect it themselves,” Varoufakis said.

Will Self

Divisive opinion peddler and author Will Self said he voted for Corbyn, though to describe Self as a committed supporter of Corbyn may be going too far. Instead, he said during a Channel 4 News interview that Corbyn represents a useful ideological divide within Labour, and could lead to the formation of a schism in the party. His fellow guest Matthew Parris then adds that this could instigate a similar split in the Conservative Party.

Grayson Perry

Turner prize winning artist Grayson Perry has got the odd kind word for Corbyn, and ahead of Corbyn’s election Perry he would back him as he was “doing something interesting for the political debate.”

“I think he’s gold,” Perry added.

 

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