VIDEO: Russell Brand: ‘Mr. Don’t Vote’ Changes Mind

Comedian and activist Russell Brand has urged his fans to vote for Labour Party leader Ed Miliband and the Labour Party in Thursday’s general election in the United Kingdom. The interview with Miliband, who is running for prime minister, was uploaded to Brand’s YouTube political channel, “The Trews,” on April 29. The exchange with the politician seems to have persuaded the activist-actor to finally want to vote.

Brand made headlines over much of the world in October 2013 when he went on the BBC’s “Newsnight” to debate Jeremy Paxman on why people should not vote. Up until this week Brand had advocated not voting in part because of his belief that voting feeds the “corporate hegemony.” The Guardian reports:

As part of the endorsement [of Miliband], which came at the end of his summary of a month of political interviews, Brand also addressed his previous comments during an interview with Jeremy Paxman on the BBC’s Newsnight that people should not bother voting, saying he had learned since then.

“I know I’ve been Mr. Don’t Vote but what I mean is politics isn’t something we can just be involved in once every five years, not just elections. Democracy is something you should be constantly involved in.”

The comedian also said Miliband was not perfect but he believed he was the most likely person to listen to people’s concerns.

Here is Brand’s interview of Miliband:

Below is the video of Brand explaining why he believes people should vote in this week’s U.K. election: