Bill Bailey on Labour 'shambles': How Strictly star forewarned Corbyn was wrong man

Despite being a lifelong Labour supporter, Bailey admitted it was “very depressing” to see divisions form within the party. 

He expressed concern over promises from different leaders about their hopes “to unify” Labour ranks and the nation.

Bailey described the party as “a shambles” and felt that not even comedy brought relief to the situation.

He said: “You can’t satirise something where you have two candidates who are both the unity candidates.

“‘I’m going to unify!’ ‘No, I’m going to unify!’ – politically, we’re in a state of freefall.”

The comedian’s concerns came to light before Sir Keir Starmer took over as leader of the opposition in April, when Mr Corbyn was at the helm.

Bailey admitted that “initially” he liked the hardline policies of Mr Corbyn before his opinion changed.

He said: “I liked a lot of what he says – he was a man of principles. I thought it was turning a new page in Labour and a way of uniting people. 

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Bailey described national politics as “some sort of parlour game, another realm, another sphere”.

During his twenties, the star flirted with politics when he performed in a play for the Workers Revolutionary Party but never joined the group. 

Bailey said: “I was never a very big fan of party politics.”

He believed that the majority of the public were focused on local issues rather than the fanfare of national politics.

Bailey said: “Britain is generally quite a moderate, tolerant, conservative with a small ‘c’ kind of country. 

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