Bez from Happy Mondays calls for Russell Brand to join his Reality Party: 'He speaks the language of the people'

The entertainer has a proposition for the comedian and social commentator

Bez, Happy Mondays dancer-turned-aspiring politician, wants to enlist Russell Brand to his Reality Party.

He thinks the comedian would an “ideal member” of the party, which calls for an evolution, rather than a revolution like Brand.

“We have to fight by peaceful means and through the ballot box,” Bez told The Independent. “Russell sees the truth and speaks the language of the people. He could bring with him many followers and would help us spread the word of the Reality Party. He is not afraid to say what he thinks. He has obviously spent a lot of time listening to ordinary people and has had the courage to stand up and fight against the system, even though this may not necessarily help him personally.”

Bez, real name Mark Berry, formed his Reality Party earlier this year and stood in the 2014 local elections for the seat of Irlam in Salford with their candidate Jackie Anderson. She came third place, 22 votes off second behind the Conservatives.

The party’s main focus is ending fracking (their slogan is “Shake your maracas if you're against the frackers”), but Bez is also calling the Brand-friendly goal of creating a “fairer society for everyone and a more caring society looking after the less fortunate”.

“We should stop blaming the poor and immigrants for stretched services and instead put the blame right at the feet of those who caused our current financial problems politicians and bankers with their ridiculously out of proportion commissions, bonuses or expenses,” he said. “It’s beginning to look a little bit like a dictatorship.”

The dancer has spent the last few years living in a commune in Herefordshire, but believes it’s time for “evolution”.

“We need to evolve quickly because we need to make change because of the threat of climate change,” he said, before quoting Professor Kevin Anderson, the director at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. “In 1990 we were in the last chance saloon and now it is last orders in that last chance saloon, we must act now.”

Bez at an anti-Fracking protest at Barton Moss near Manchester in March 2014

He is convinced that he can persuade Brand to vote for him, despite the comedian’s famous reluctance to voting for any of the existing parties. The comedian has also said that he doesn’t want to stand for Parliament because of fear he’d “become one of them”.

“Russell actually said ‘vote if there’s someone worth voting for’ which is exactly the reason we set up the Reality Party, to give the people something to vote for,” he continued.

“If you are unable to vote for The Reality Party then we would suggest you vote for the Green Party because it shares our views on fracking and environmental issues.”

Bez asserts that “it is every person’s duty to go to the ballet box to vote”, but offered an alternative for the disenfranchised.

“If you are unable to vote we’d suggest leaving your paper blank as a blank vote is a protest vote,” he said. “To remain at home and do nothing says that you are happy with the system that you’re living with.”