Ed Miliband to Russell Brand: People should vote because it leads to gay rights
Labour leader Ed Miliband has defended voting in an interview with comedian Russell Brand, by saying it leads to things like gay rights.
Mr Miliband appeared in an interview with Brand, who has urged British people against voting, arguing that the system isn’t fair.
Disagreeing with Brand, the Labour Party leader called the idea of not voting “totally wrong”, suggesting that it is not only politicians who make change happen, but also voters.
He said: “Workers rights, the national health service, a minimum wage, lesbian and gay rights… the whole point about this is that they happen.
“I don’t actually take the view that some politicians take, which is all about the great politicians who make the change happen.
Mr Miliband also said that there was a need for more change, saying: “It’s all about progress. Progress comes from people demanding change, politics responding, not all the way, and people pushing for change to carry on.
“Without politics, and this maybe part the issue here, without government, the change doesn’t happen.”
“It shouldn’t be one rule for the richest and most powerful, and another rule for everybody else. It should be one rule for everybody, and that’s the sort of society I believe in,” he continued.
“Of course it’s people that make it happen, but it’s a combination of politics and people.”
Brand, however, commended Mr Miliband for “understanding how the country feels”, but said: “The reason I have never voted in my life is that I think it does not matter,” Brand said.
“We all got excited by Tony Blair, we all got excited by Barack Obama and what happened?” he continued.
The full interview is available to view below
