Actor Brian Cox, 78, has claimed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has the “possibility” of becoming akin to – who he deems to be – Britain’s greatest ever leader.
The Succession star is no stranger to wading into political discussion, regularly criticising US president Donald Trump and the Conservative Party in the UK.
In fact, earlier this month, Cox came under fire when he branded the newly elected president across the pond a “c***” three times during a live TV appearance.
This week, speaking on the Ways to Chance The World podcast, Cox re-emphasised his disdain for Trump while simultaneously throwing his support behind Starmer amid the pair’s historic meeting in Washington DC.
Starmer hasn’t been without his critics since taking office either, facing backlash for his government’s plans over the Chagos Islands, failing to rule out tax hikes, facing legal threats from Waspi, and other contentious policies.
But when speaking to Krishnan Guru-Murthy on his podcast, Cox still had high hopes for the Labour leader, telling the news presenter: “Starmer… I feel two things about Starmer.
Brian Cox was speaking on the Ways to Change The World podcast
CHANNEL 4
“Probably the greatest prime minister we ever had was Clement Atlee I think,” Cox continued before Guru-Murthy interjected: “Which is what (Starmer) thinks as well.”
Cox then compared the two: “Well, I see elements of that, I really do.
“There’s an element about him that I’m not too cool about, but I do feel that he has the possibility if he really thought about it, to be an Atlee figure.”
Cox went on to applaud Atlee for building his government on “socialist principles” following his comparison before Guru-Murthy continued his line of questioning.
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Guru-Murthy asked if Cox felt Starmer was a “man of principle” himself, which prompted the actor to emphatically reply: “I do think ultimately he’s a man of principle, just sometimes his manner puts me off.
“I do think he’s a man of principle deep down.”
Elsewhere in the podcast, Cox also hit out at Trump for lacking a “sense of humanity” for his approach to Gaza, claimed he wasn’t backing Scottish independence, and shared fears over “censorship” for the arts moving forward.
While Cox was unwavering in his stance, after a clip of the podcast was shared on Instagram by Channel 4 News, it’s safe to say social media users weren’t quite as convinced.
Brian Cox is no stranger to sharing his political views
PA
Taking to the comments of the clip, a fierce row erupted among members of the public who took issue with Cox’s lauding of the PM.
“Gotta lot of time for Brian Cox but I think he’s spent to much time in LaLa Land – it’s easier to find the positives in a s****y PM when you’re lucky enough to have an escape route,” one viewers commented. (sic)
They added: “The British public, on the whole, don’t have that luxury. We had 14 years of the Tories screwing us over and he could’ve at least attempted to make some repairs, instead of w*****g off the torch.”
“I actually thought Mr Cox might be more in touch. Starmer is the least principled member of parliament,” a second raged before a third hit out: “This guy has been talking nonsense for decades but this is the most extreme nonsense yet. Starmer a man of principle… hilarious.”
“He started really well until he said ‘ks is a man of principle’, sorry he isn’t,” another argued before a fifth raged: “Biggest load of rubbish has this bloke even looked into Starmer. Attlee led the most radical Labour government in history, creating the welfare state, the NHS, and nationalizing key industries. Starmer is a Blairite career politician who hasn’t done anything but pander to the elites and purge good principled socialists out of Labour.”
However, arguing against the criticism were a handful of Cox fans who hit back at the furore sparked by his comments.
One fan commented: “Starmer is exactly what we need, principled, methodical and forensic – some in this thread seem to want to go back to buffoons, reality TV stars and circus clowns who are desperate for headlines & attention!!”
And another applauded: “Good for him. About time it was recognised that this is not some sort of personality contest. Starmer is having to deal with the disaster of fourteen years of the Tories. 180000 premature deaths of working class people under the Tories (ONS). Some of us don’t forget.” (sic)