Noted political satirist, performer and comedy sketch writer John Bird has had some interesting things to say about his own political views on the South Bank Show (14th Oct). Interviewed by Melvyn Bragg as part of a special programme about the famous 'Bird and Fortune' comedy partnership, he recounted his own early involvement with the Socialist Party of Great Britain.
He joined the SPGB as a teenager in the 1950s when he lived in Nottingham and recounted how he had to pass a 'tough' series of questions in an exam before he could officially join, going on to say that he still essentially believed in its view of the world, even if he seemed unsure of the Party's contemporary existence. The interview included a montage shot of old issues of the Party's Socialist Standard magazine from the 1950s and pamphlets from the era, focussing in on a headline about 'why socialists oppose the Labour Party'.
Given that Bird and Fortune's healthy scepticism towards the market economy and those who wish to administer it seems undiminished and undimmed (as evidenced in their regular Channel 4 slots and throughout the rest of the South Bank Show), perhaps the Party can expect him to search them out once more . . .?
DAP
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