Blur's Dave Rowntree hopes to help Labour remind the nation Britain is amazing
Blur Dave Rowntree is drumming up support - as he hopes a Keir Starmer triumph will remind the nation it is amazing to be British.
The rock star-turned-Parliamentary hopeful told us of his plans and reminisced about 90s Cool Britannia under ex-PM Tony Blair.
Rowntree, bidding to win the seat of Mid Sussex for Labour, said in an exclusive interview: “It was a special time for the UK. The Labour government, for all the mistakes it made delivered an absolutely spectacular economic recovery and a cultural revolution. Everyone could breathe out and luxuriate in how amazing it was to be British.
“And obviously the Tories undid the entire lot, and now we’re the laughing stock of the world again.” He added: “I didn’t like the name Cool Britannia much, and I didn’t go to the parties, but I was very happy to live through that period.”
Asked if he thought Mr Starmer could make it happen again, he said: “Let’s hope, eh? Let’s hope.”
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Dave out on the campaign trail after his selectionRowntree, a Labour member since the 1990s, was selected on Tuesday evening to stand in Mid-Sussex constituency, currently held by Tory minister Mims Davies. It’s his second run for Parliament, having stood unsuccessfully in 2010 against Tory Mark Field in the Cities of London and Westminster. He’s since served as a county councillor in Norwich, and now lives near Guildford
“I joined the party in the Blair years, but remained a lay member for a for a while,” he said. “I was an armchair member, saying ‘somebody should do something!’ Gradually it dawned on me that the somebody who should do something was me.”
Rowntree spoke warmly about the “really beautiful part of the country” he hopes to represent after the General Election, and where he often spent holidays while growing up in the 1970s. But he said the area’s problems are a microcosm of those felt by the whole country.
“There’s massive housing need. There are lots of development plans - but the key thing is to get the right houses in the right places, and that needs central leadership, which the Government has spectacularly failed to provide. You just have to look at what Sadiq Khan has done in London to see what transformation can take place.”
Rowntree - whose band sold 7 million albums - went on: “Also, Especially in Burgess Hill, the town centre has boarded up shops - as they are across the country. The Government has promised town centre regeneration for 14 years… but it takes someone with a bit of vision, a bit of courage and someone with some ideas.”
He's been a member of the party since the Blair yearsHe said politics never caused tension in Blur - they never really argued about it. But he warned “factionalism” within the Labour Party risked handing more victories to the Tories. “Getting things done means being willing to compromise - I try and bring people together,” he said.
While Mr Rowntree is committed to being a full time member of Parliament, he says that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Blur. “The band gets together every five years anyway,” he said. “And that’s how often we have elections, so I imagine nothing will change there.”
Mr Rowntree dismissed the idea of forming or joining a supergroup in Parliament, such as MP4 - the band of MPs founded by Runrig keyboard player-turned SNP MP Pete Wishart. The band’s drummer, Tory MP Greg Knight, is set to step down at the next election. But although he and Mr Wishart get on, Mr Rowntree insisted: “I shan’t be applying to join.”
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