On Tuesday 17th May, the #JC4PM movement comes to the Cambridge Corn Exchange. A gathering of comedians and musicians, it hopes to build on the excitement created by Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership bid and make it something more long-lasting; think of it as a kind of cultural 'Momentum'. Along the way it’s received support from Billy Bragg, Michael Rosen, and Charlotte Church. In advance of the Cambridge date, Varsity briefly caught up with Jeremy Hardy, a mainstay of Radio 4 comedy shows and one of the most notable figures in the show.

What do you hope to achieve with the #JC4PM movement?
A seat in the House of Lords. The expenses are amazing

How much of an impact do you think these gigs will really have, given that one could argue most of the audience already intends to vote for Corbyn, and it will be a case of preaching to the converted?
It's very hard to say. The fact that people are converted doesn't mean they don't need their confidence and enthusiasm shoring up. And we're showing the Labour right that we're not going away.

Do you think that comedy has become more apolitical since the 1980s, and if so, do you think that is a bad thing?
No, I don't think that. There's just more of it and more people who are very rich.

Do you think radio comedy programmes, such as I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, will have an enduring appeal? 
God, I hope so.

A number of actors, such as Julie Walters, have described how difficult it is for people from working class backgrounds to break into the industry today. Do you think the same is true for comedy?
It's true of everything, apart from football and Argos.

Do you think it is fair for people who supported and voted for other parties in the 2015 General Election, and before, to then criticise centrist Labour MPs for disloyalty?
If those Labour MPs are serious about wanting a Labour government, they need to stop stabbing their leader in the back. That's just reality.

Patrick:

The campaign is more contentious than it perhaps first appears. Hardy himself was a vocal supporter of the Green Party before the last general election, and despite his protestations, those on the right of the party could feel reasonably aggrieved at receiving lectures on loyalty to the leader. 

One could argue that #JC4PM is merely the latest in a series of doomed attempts to convert the masses through the medium of light entertainment. In the run up to the 1987 General Election, Bragg, Paul Weller and The Communards led a movement known as ‘Red Wedge’ which had similar aims of driving up support for the Labour Party; Margaret Thatcher went on to win her third consecutive victory.

Bragg and Hardy refuse to be downhearted though, and if the UK is to wake up to a Corbyn government sometime in May 2020, then we might be looking back to something like #JC4PM as one of the first steps along that path.