Russell Brand Calls on Cambridge Students to Lead the Revolution

Last night, whilst speaking at the Cambridge Union, Russell Brand called on Cambridge students to be the brains behind his revolution. He urged students to “join the MI5” so that “we can create counter-revolution tactics together”.

In response to the question ‘Would you ever run for political office?’, Russell replied “Why do I have to run? I’ll saunter for office!”, though he quickly joked that it would be a tough re-brand to go from “Don’t ever vote” to “Vote for me.”

Would you vote for him?

Russell was his usual ultra-energetic, playful self, strutting around the chamber and engaging with the crowd. He took breaks from political ramblings by toying with audience members, even sitting on one.

Russell getting friendly with the audience

Brand certainly did not pander to the formality of the Union, openly expressing dismay at the interviewer’s questions.  He asked whether they had been supplied by the BBC, who were filming the event for a documentary. He even called one student a “giant” and another an “idiot”, though the comedian’s insults were certainly in jest.

However, he went further when he told Cambridge to “Shut up, you Harry Potter poofs”, a comment which offended some of the audience, including CUSU LGBT representative and Tab columnist Charlie Bell:

“It was a bit of a shock to hear that the word poof is considered an appropriate term to level as an insult, especially by someone like Brand, who models himself as the very model of a modern liberal… he should apologise unreservedly and immediately.”

Brand couldn’t sit down for long

Brand’s jokiness was less clear when he moved on to label the man behind Topshop, Sir Philip Green, a ‘cunt’.

When pressed on how his revolution would actually work he stated,

“We need to make it sexy – make it fun, make it enjoyable, make it a part of your identity. They’re very good at presenting the spectacle – we need to be better. What we need to do is stimulate people’s interest. For the first time we have a focus to rally people around.”

The prevailing opinion from much of the Cambridge crowd was that Brand was charming and funny, but that his eloquently expressed politics lacked substance:

After the talk, many students were pleased to get photos with the always socially, if not politically, compliant Russell Brand.

Brand with fresher architect Joe Bradley