I’ve lost faith in politics, admits Hucknall the ex -Labour luvvie
ED MILIBAND may have bagged the dubious support of gormless Hobbit actor Martin Freeman this week. But there is one Labour luvvie whose celebrity backing he can’t count on during the election.
Simply Red crooner Mick Hucknall, a Labour stalwart who has donated £25,000 to the party coffers in the past, admits he has become disillusioned with politics and that he’s ‘lost faith’ in politicians.
Such a lack of enthusiasm is a far cry from Hucknall’s dizzy support for the party during the heady days of Cool Britannia, when he was a guest of the Blairs at Chequers and a regular at party fundraisers. Celebrity-mad Blair even paid gushing tribute to Hucknall’s loyalty in his 2010 memoir, describing him as ‘staunch in his support’.
‘People have lost faith in politicians because they seem to simply say whatever they have planned to say in response, regardless of what the question was,’ Hucknall complains.
‘And so you get politicians giving wellthought-out answers to questions that haven’t been asked.
‘What you get is a nonsensical debate or discussion where a question is often responded to with a completely irrelevant reply. It’s bizarre.’
Hucknall, 54, who was speaking at a party in London’s Belgravia, adds: ‘As far as I am concerned, my duty is to work hard and pay my taxes and hope others will follow. I am not a political
mouthpiece; I probably wouldn’t make a very good one. I am not politically active as a celebrity. I know what I think is right and what I think is wrong, and what I do, as I said, is work hard and pay my taxes.’
Some might interpret this as a pointed reference to Freeman’s partner Amanda Abbington, who declared herself bankrupt over an unpaid £120,000 tax bill, despite living with her Sherlock co-star Freeman, who is worth more than £10 million.
Hucknall backed Gordon Brown ahead of the last election. But his support for Miliband has been clearly on the wane for some time.
During an appearance on TV’s Question Time last year, he expressed concern about Miliband’s socialist policies, remarking: ‘I look at the polls, and if I were Ed Miliband, I’d be very worried at this stage. Will a Left-wing Labour Party ever get into government?’