He modestly and self-deprecatingly admitted:
“I said nothing new or original, it was the expression of the knowledge that democracy is irrelevant that resonated.”
He then went on to explain more fully his attitude towards voting.
“As long as the priorities of those in government remain the interests of big business, rather than the people they were elected to serve, the impact of voting is negligible and it is our responsibility to be more active if we want real change...The only reason to vote is if the vote represents power or change. I don't think it does. I fervently believe that we deserve more from our democratic system...The lazily duplicitous servants of The City expect us to gratefully participate in what amounts to little more than a political hokey cokey where every four years we get to choose what colour tie the liar who leads us wears...”
“...my friend's 15-year-old son wrote an essay for his politics class after he read my New Statesman piece. He didn't agree with everything I said, he prefers the idea of spoiling ballots to not voting "to show we do care" maybe he's right, I don't know. The reason not voting could be effective is that if we starve them of our consent we could force them to acknowledge that they operate on behalf of The City and Wall Street; that the financing of political parties and lobbying is where the true influence lies; not in the ballot box...”
“...One night late at the Watford Gap I got chatting to a couple of squaddies...Then we were joined by three Muslim women... , I felt how plausible and beautiful The Revolution could be. We just chatted. Here we were free from the divisive rule that tears us apart. That sends brave men and women to foreign lands to fight their capitalist wars, that intimidates and unsettles people whose faith and culture superficially distinguishes them..Our differences irrelevant. With no one to impose separation we are united. I realised then that our treasured concepts of tribe and nation are not valued by those who govern except when it is to divide us from each other....”
“...The people that govern us don't want an active population who are politically engaged, they want passive consumers distracted by the spectacle...If we all collude and collaborate together we can design a new system that makes the current one obsolete. The reality is there are alternatives. That is the terrifying truth that the media, government and big business work so hard to conceal.”
The Socialist Party (GB) can go along with much of what Russell Brand wrote. Sure, we can point out what we think are some the flaws in other things he says such as his belief that reforming the tax system and re-distribution of wealth would lead to a fundamental change in society. But the core truths of his ideas cannot be denied.
“This is a journey we can all go on together, all of us. We can include everyone and fear no one. A system that serves the planet and the people. I'd vote for that.” and this is the exact choice our candidate is giving to the voters of the Vassall’s ward of Lambeth council.
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