Vivienne Westwood has unexpectedly thrown her support behind Jeremy Corbyn, calling the Labour leader a “winner” and praising him for his environmental policies.
The legendary designer and activist – who is famously outspoken when it comes to politics – shared her thoughts on the upcoming election in a new statement released earlier today. Despite previously being staunchly behind the Green Party, she revealed that she had recently switched sides after reading Corbyn’s 2017 Labour manifesto.
“I'm excited about the Labour Party manifesto because it’s all about the fair distribution of wealth” the icon explained. “Jeremy clearly wants to go green and creating a fair distribution of wealth is the place to start, from there we can build a green economy which will secure our future”.
She confirmed that she was offering her full support to Corbyn, adding: “We have to build a green economy. For me, he’s a winner.”
Westwood’s politics have been a colossal part of her creative life, with the designer using her platform to tackle everything from Wikileaks and gender inequality to Scottish independence and industrial farming. Most recently, she’s been seen actively campaigning for a ban on fracking – something that Corbyn has pledged to get rid of if he becomes prime minister.
“Right away, the Labour Party will ban Fracking which just proves they care about people and our beautiful country,” she continued. “Fracking is economic and environmental madness”.
Westwood went on to accuse the Conservatives of using “fake science” to hide the truth about the dangers of fracking and shale gas (a fact that was confirmed in a recent report by The Ecologist). She also added that the party’s manifesto had “betrayed” people in Britain, as it promised to take away their local decision-making powers.
“Fracking kills and the majority of British people don't want it,” the activist concluded. “I just think it would be so positive for us all if Labour did win the election.”
Read the full Labour manifesto for 2017 here