Steve Coogan Compares Keir Starmer Unfavourably To Thatcher: 'I Never Thought I'd Say That'

Steve Coogan in 2022Steve Coogan has admitted he’s so unimpressed with Keir Starmer that he thinks the prime minister could actually learn something from Margaret Thatcher.During a new interview with iNews, Steve was asked about his most famous comedy creation, Alan Partridge, and pointed out similarities between the character and Starmer.“In some ways, he’s a bit like Keir Starmer: ‘What direction is the wind going in? Which way is this going? Let me quickly push my way to the front and look like I was leading you’,” the Bafta winner claimed.UK prime minister Sir Keir StarmerSpeaking more generally about Starmer, he continued: “ I think that almost everything is just political [to him]. I don’t think he has any ideology.“I think every decision he makes is, ‘What is the most politically expedient thing to say and think?’ And it makes me admire – which I never thought I’d say – Margaret Thatcher for at least having an ideology and a point of view. And a vision. I didn’t agree with it, but at least she had one. He doesn’t have one. So I am not an ally.”Steve previously compared Alan Partridge to the Labour leader last year, during an interview on Laura Kuenssberg’s Sunday morning BBC show.“He’d be a bit like Keir Starmer, see which way the media wind was blowing and go that way”Actor Steve Coogan tells #BBCLauraK what Alan Partridge would be like hosting a Sunday morning political interview showhttps://t.co/WuNWrZJvhCpic.twitter.com/3g80snMWnb— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) October 27, 2024In the past, Steve has been a supporter of the Labour party, interviewing Tony Blair in character back in 1996, and hosting a rally for then-leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2017, later publicly endorsing him in the 2019 general election.During last year’s general election, Steve spoke out in support of the Green Party. He also co-signed an open letter addressed to Starmer before the election, urging him to stop sales of arms to Israel if he were to be elected prime minister.Prior to that, he was one of around 2000 artists who co-signed another open letter calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East.READ MORE:Steve Coogan Reveals There’s Another Very Famous TV Host Who's Inspired Alan Partridge Character (Apart From Richard Madeley)Steve Coogan Recalls 1 Scene He Asked To Be Removed From New Jimmy Savile Drama The ReckoningPiers Morgan Taunts 'Sneering' Steve Coogan And Hugh Grant Over Election Result

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