Political bid to highlight threats to NHS

Rufus Hound is to stand as a Euro-MP – even though he admits there is ‘no way’ he should be a politician.

The comedian is to stand on a pro-NHS ticket at May’s European election to draw attention to political and big-business threats to the health service.

He said he decided to stand because he could see no one in public life highlighting how the NHS was being privatised by the back door – and he didn’t want to be one of ‘those people’ who complained about things but did nothing about it.

His stance is in contrast to Russell Brand’s; who urged those feeling disenfranchised not to vote in a system that does not represent them.

Hound made his announcement on ITV’s Jonathan Ross Show last night, where he was appearing with with Robert Lindsay to plug their West End show Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

He will be standing for the National Health Action Party, set up by health workers, and explained more on his blog, where he admitted: 'I'm not smart enough, or machiavellian enough, to survive in modern politics.

‘My closet barely closes for the number of skeletons. I’m an ex-touring stand-up and professional show off, not a statesman. But then the NHA is wholly made up of people who don’t want to be politicians.

‘‘It’s just that it turns out that the people who do want to be politicians – i.e. politicians – are a pack of duplicitous c**ts who have absolutely no interest in ensuring that free healthcare – provided according to need, not wealth – remains the cornerstone of our brilliant country. Somebody has to do something. So it looks like it’s going to have to be us. It’s a nightmare.’

He hailed the success of the NHS as an organisation that, although flawed, was set up on important principles and had grown to be the most cost-effective healthcare provider in the world.

But he added:‘The millionaires that currently run things have decided that you (assuming you’re not a member of the Bullingdon Club, or a trustafarian) can go fuck yourself. This place is for them, not you. Why should you get free healthcare? Why can’t they take that big pot of money ear-marked for medicine and just start sharing it out amongst themselves?

‘Big, rich, private heathcare companies have donated millions to the Conservative party and now they’re calling in the debt. Jeremy Hunt is killing the NHS so that his owners can bleed you dry.’

Dr Louise Irvine, one of the founders of the NHA, said: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled that Rufus Hound has offered to stand for the NHA in the London euro election. It’s fantastic that he’s prepared to take action to help defend our NHS at a time when it’s in grave danger.

Co-leader Dr Clive Peedell added: ‘Rufus is so passionate and knowledgeable about the NHS and I’m delighted that he shares our view that the Coalition’s NHS reforms will transform a cost-effective public system of health care into one that will be more expensive, inefficient and unequal, wasting billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to implement while making patient care worse and corroding public trust in the NHS. With Rufus on board, we hope to spread that message far and wide.’

Hound is not the only comedian to go into politics. Italian comedian Beppe Grillo founded the Five Star Movement to clean up politics – and won more than a quarter of votes in the 2103 general election for the Chamber Of Deputies. Jon Gnarr has been the mayor of Reykjavík since 2010, with a liberal, fun agenda. And Eddie Izzard intends to stand for Labour’s mayor of London in 2020.

Published: 26 Jan 2014