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Labour is on the hunt for someone to befriend celebrities and persuade them to endorse the party as it lines up star support ahead of the next election.
Under Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to secure high-profile backers, the party is offering up to £53,700 for the job of “celebrities and endorsements manager”.
The perfect candidate will know the party’s policy plan inside-out and be able to hunt out possible political allies in the celebrity world who can then be encouraged to endorse Sir Keir as the next prime minister.
A job ad, published by the party this week, is seeking someone who will be responsible for “engaging celebrities and other high profile individuals” to secure their endorsement and deploy them at high profile events.
The role description states the person will have to be on the lookout for celebrities who could become Labour supporters, with a specific reference to identifying black, Asian and minority ethnic figures.
They will then have to develop relationships and encourage them to become public supporters who can then be deployed for events and campaigns.
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The role is based in the party’s head office in London and pays £47,804.12, with an allowance of over £1,000 and the ability to progress to £53,711.77 over three years.
Political celebrity allegiances are not a new concept – particularly for the Labour Party, with former leader Tony Blair known for courting stars when he was in Downing Street.
The backing of a respected public figure can be key to winning over certain age groups, or demographics, who may be have otherwise been ambivalent.
Sir Keir has recently enjoyed the high profile support of former footballer Gary Neville who has spoken publicly about his support for Labour policies, as well as appearing at fundraising events.
Who have been high profile Labour Party backers – and how successful was the collaboration?
Stormzy
British grime artist Stormzy became a supporter of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – praising his activism and anti-austerity agenda. He continued to back him throughout his term as leader and was vocal in his opposition to then prime minister Theresa May – in particular over her Government’s handling of the Grenfell Tower fire. He often used his music in his political activism, performing a Corbyn-supporting chant at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and attacking Mrs May in a freestyle at the Brit Awards in 2018. 5/5
Grime4Corbyn
Mr Corbyn also enjoyed support from the wider music scene in 2017, with the “Grime4Corbyn” campaign set up to rally younger voters to support Labour. The movement consisted of industry names such as JME, AJ Tracy and Akala and held events where people were encouraged to register to vote. But, by the 2019 election, it had largely dissipated – with some involved complaining that the artists had been used by politicians with no follow-through. 2/5
Russell Brand
In 2015, so-called “Mr Don’t Vote” comedian Russell Brand performed a magnificent U-turn and urged people to back then Labour leader Ed Miliband. Mr Brand had interviewed Mr Miliband for his YouTube channel “The Trews” (short for true news) and later said he had changed his mind because he wanted to oust the Conservatives from Government. He urged them to back Labour – despite not being registered to vote himself – and went on to endorse Labour in subsequent elections. During the Covid-19 pandemic, his YouTube channel pivoted to pandemic denialism and conspiracy theories – culminating in him having a video removed this year due to YouTube’s policy on medical misinformation. 1/5
Geri Halliwell
‘Ginger Spice’ Geri Halliwell was vocal in her support of the Tories in the nineties, describing Margaret Thatcher as the “original Spice Girl” and a “girl power” figure. By the time of the 2001 election, however, then PM Tony Blair performed the PR coup of winning the support of the ultimate Union Jack poster girl who appeared in a patriotic election video. Her loyalty to left-wing politics is unclear, however, given the former popstar was recently pictured with her arms draped around Tory MP and ex-minister Nadine Dorries. 3/5
Sir Alex Ferguson
Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson became one of a host of Labour donors known as “Labour luvvies” who poured thousands into the party under Blair’s leadership. Sir Alex and Mr Blair stayed close and shared advice (on how to deal with “big egos”) and the ex-manager remained a consistent and outspoken Labour Party supporter. In his biography, Sir Alex revealed Mr Blair had consulted him over his leadership struggles with Gordon Brown. 5/5
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