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Wednesday 20 December 2023

Unsteady Eddie



Jean Hatchet has an entertaining Critic piece on the political ambitions and failures of Eddie Izzard.


Give up already, Eddie

Eddie Izzard’s unconvincing political career is going nowhere

If a man declared his undying love for a woman, and a week later declared his love for another woman, you’d think of that man as insincere at best. In November last year Eddie Izzard swore the political equivalent of undying love for Sheffield and her people. He was, it appeared from his campaign declarations, going to stick around forever and make everything better for the people of Sheffield.

Often sporting a hot pink coat and mini skirt, he posed with the police, hung around the buses and ran about in the park. Photo opportunities were plentiful, and he garnered the lion’s share of the media headlines about the race to stand as the Labour candidate for MP in Sheffield Central. Izzard made much mention of his Sheffield connections — as he had been at university here temporarily — and he boasted that Sheffield kick-started his creative career. He eventually lost the battle to be selected but declared, “I took a risk in standing but I don’t regret it. Sheffield is a city that I love. It was before, and it always will be, close to my heart. Thank you #Sheffield.”


The whole piece is well worth reading as a reminder that we should pay no attention to celebrities who play politics.


Yesterday Izzard lost in Brighton, coming second to Tom Gray, a local musician, in his bid to be selected. You have to wonder how he feels at not being embraced by a city so diverse and inclusive. Could it be that it is just too difficult for the party members to believe he is politically committed to the area or is he simply hard for them to like with his insincere track record? I don’t imagine he has considered this. He has released no statement as yet. A toe-curling article by Sean O’Grady of the Independent ponders that Eddie is, “just too nice and kind and too beautiful a personality to be a Labour MP” and that he is “such a beautiful person, inside and out, she can’t really want to fade away on some select committee”.

I don’t agree with him. Despite Sean’s dismissal of political service as dull and irrelevant, I suspect that Izzard is probably bored by the prospect of his fireplace and slippers. Entitled, wealthy men need new shiny things to play with, and, as they deny old age, invariably look around for the exclusive and elusive things they don’t yet have. Not much is as exclusive and elusive as a seat in government. What to give the man who has everything? Why lady things of course, and a seat in the Commons. He’s already been everywhere he can, now he wants to be where he can’t. I would love him to keep banging on that door and being told no.

2 comments:

Sam Vega said...

Says a lot about the bigotry in this disgusting country that a comedian who dresses as a woman isn't automatically given a seat in the legislature.

A K Haart said...

Sam - yes I'm shocked that he has to apply. Demeaning I call it.