Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Protesters throw insults at Russell Brand at anti-austerity march: 'F*** off back to Miliband'

Some in the crowd were not pleased about Brand selling out on his dream of a revolution

Kiran Moodley
Monday 22 June 2015 16:20 BST
Comments
(Newsflare.com)

He may still be the darling of the left, the students, the disillusioned and the intentionally disenfranchised, but Russell Brand is not loved by all on the revolutionary side of the political spectrum.

The comedian-turned-activist appeared on stage at the anti-austerity march in London on June 20, which grew in a crowd of a reported 250,000 people. The rally was to protest against the latest wave of government spending cuts from the Conservative government.

Not everyone was pleased to see Mr Brand participate: while he famously said that he was against voting, he interviewed former Labour leader Ed Miliband before the May election and came out in support of the party, while telling people to vote Green in Brighton.

Such a u-turn was not welcome by a small group of people who hurled abuse Mr Brand as he awaited his appearance on stage. One person shouted, "Sell us a book on revolution and then tell us to vote Labour? You're a turncoat!"

Another vocal opponent of Mr Brand shouted, "This is a man who thinks the aristocracy has the same f***ing problems as us. F*** him. He should not be on a stage Ask them how much they paid him? You have no f***ing place here!"

Not that the two incredibly vocal individuals had much of an impact on Mr Brand, who tweeted plenty of pictures of anti-austerity marchers who supported his presence at the rally and his invitation to speak in Parliament Square:

The protest at the weekend began outside the Bank of England and ended at Parliament Square. It was one of the biggest anti-austerity events in recent years and the first major protest since the new Government was formed.

The march was joined by celebrities, politicians and the unions. Len McCluskey, of Unite, sent a warning to the Government. “If they think they won the war of austerity on 7 May, they’d better think again,” he told the rally.

Large protests also took place in Liverpool and Glasgow.

Video courtesy of Newsflare.com.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in