CELEBS’ POLITICAL CALLING

Sex And The City’s Cynthia Nixon is aiming to run for governor of New York. Marion McMullen looks at celebrities with a starring role in politics FORMER American child star Shirley Temple once appeared with Ronald Reagan in the 1947 film That Hagen Girl – it was a Box Office flop. She entered politics in the 1960s and worked as a national diplomat under four presidents. Former American president Bill Clinton once praised her saying: “She has to be the only person who both saved an entire movie studio from failure and contributed to the fall of communism.” CYNTHIA Nixon found fame playing Miranda in hit TV series Sex And The City. Now the mother-of-three has announced to her 28,000 followers on Twitter that she is running for governor of New York. She said: “I love New York. I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else. But something has to change. We want our government to work again.” OSCAR-winning actress Glenda Jackson switched to politics in 1992 to become a Labour MP and represented the Hampstead and Highgate constituency in north London until 2010. The acting legend made a triumphant return last year to play King Lear on the West End stage. TERMINATOR star Arnold Schwarzenegger kept his “I’ll be back” promise when it came to politics. He was governor of California from 2003 until 2011 and the chairman of President George W Bush’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He once said: “I went from being the Terminator to being the governator.” MICHAEL Cashman played Colin Russell in BBC soap East-Enders and his character famously kissed his boyfriend Barry Clark in a 1987 scene in the first gay kiss in a British soap. The actor turned Labour Euro MP, co-founded lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity Stonewall and was Labour spokesman on human rights at the European Parliament. He became Lord Cashman in 2014. 3 DIRTY Harry film star

Clint

Eastwood spent a term as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea in California. His campaign slogan was Bringing the Community Together and he was elected by a landslide in 1986. He later pointed out: “Winning the election is a good-news, bad-news kind of thing. Okay, now you’re the mayor. The bad news is, now you’re the mayor.” 8 COMEDIAN Al Murray, aka The Pub Landlord, stood against Ukip’s Nigel Farage in the 2015 General Election for the hotly contested Kent constituency of South Thanet. He campaigned under the banner of the newly formed Free United Kingdom Party, or FKUP, and the party’s logo was an upside down pound sign. Only 318 people voted for him though on election night. RONALD Reagan starred in films like 1952 movie Bonzo Goes To College opposite chimp co-star Bonzo, before he turned to politics and became US President. The icon to the Republicans died at the age of 93 at his home in Bel Air in southern California in 2004. His state funeral service took place on the 25th anniversary of the death of his close friend and fellow movie star John Wayne. 9 REALITY TV personality and former glamour model Katie Price stood as an independent candidate for the Stretford and Urmston constituency of Greater Manchester in 2001. Announcing her manifesto pledge of free plastic surgery for all, she said: “I know it will take a big swing to win the seat but there’s no bigger swinger

than me.” 10 FORMER Coronation Street actress Tracy

Brabin was elected as the Labour MP for the Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen in 2016. Tracy, who played Tricia Armstrong in the ITV soap, stood following the murder of previous MP Jo Cox. Jo and Tracy had been good friends and both grew up in the Batley area.