Boris Johnson would be 'thrilled' if Russell Brand ran for London Mayor
The comedian, he said, was one of few people capable of getting young, disaffected voters back on board
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Your support makes all the difference.Far from appearing in any way threatened by the competition, Boris Johnson has said he would be "thrilled" if Russell Brand ran for London Mayor.
The comedian, he said, was one of few people capable of getting young, disaffected voters back on board.
He also said he felt critics of Brand’s "revolution" were simply envious of his position – despite admitting that if we were to adopt his theories on political reform, it would likely end in "total global chaos".
"So much of this vituperation is obviously motivated by jealousy, of his success, his easy good humour, his string of beautiful and intelligent girlfriends, his Hollywood lifestyle, etc," he wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
"The second [reason for siding with Brand] is that he genuinely seems like a nice chap. A while ago he came to film Question Time in City Hall and made a good impression on everyone – chatting in the lift, introducing us to his mother etc – even if someone afterwards said that he did nip off to the gents for a long time."
"Russell Brand may be about as convincing as a political theorist as a toaster made by Russell Hobbs, but he is at least engaging his left-wing audience with something they can recognise as passion," he added.
His comments came after Brand refused to rule out speculation that he was set to run for London Mayor in 2016.
The Mail Online alleged that he was considering standing on an independent "anti-politics" ticket.
"We are not commenting," a spokesperson for the actor said.
The report followed an explosive appearance on Newsnight on Thursday, during which Brand said he was "open-minded" to conspiracy theories that suggest the US government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers.
"We have to remain open-minded to that kind of possibility," he said.
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