Blur’s Dave Rowntree hopes to assist Labour remind the nation Britain is wonderful

Blur Dave Rowntree is drumming up help – as he hopes a Keir Starmer triumph will remind the nation it’s wonderful to be British.

The rock star-turned-Parliamentary hopeful instructed us of his plans and reminisced about 90s Cool Britannia underneath ex-PM Tony Blair.

Rowntree, bidding to win the seat of Mid Sussex for Labour, stated in an unique 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 might make it occur once more, he stated: “Let’s hope, eh? Let’s hope.”

Rowntree, a Labour member because the Nineteen Nineties, was chosen on Tuesday night to face in Mid-Sussex constituency, presently held by Tory minister Mims Davies.

It’s his second run for Parliament, having stood unsuccessfully in 2010 in opposition to Tory Mark Field within the Cities of London and Westminster.

He’s since served as a county councillor in Norwich, and now lives close to Guildford

“I joined the party in the Blair years, but remained a lay member for a for a while,” he stated. “I used to be 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 concerning the “really beautiful part of the country” he hopes to symbolize after the General Election, and the place he typically spent holidays whereas rising up within the Nineteen Seventies.

But he stated the world’s issues are a microcosm of these felt by the entire nation.

“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 bought 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 stated politics by no means induced stress in Blur – they by no means actually argued about it.

But he warned “factionalism” throughout the Labour Party risked handing extra victories to the Tories.

“Getting things done means being willing to compromise – I try and bring people together,” he stated.

While Mr Rowntree is dedicated to being a full time member of Parliament, he says that doesn’t essentially imply the tip of Blur.

“The band gets together every five years anyway,” he stated.

“And that’s how often we have elections, so I imagine nothing will change there.”

Mr Rowntree dismissed the concept of forming or becoming a member of a supergroup in Parliament, corresponding to MP4 – the band of MPs based by Runrig keyboard player-turned SNP MP Pete Wishart.

The band’s drummer, Tory MP Greg Knight, is ready to step down on the subsequent election. But though he and Mr Wishart get on, Mr Rowntree insisted: “I shan’t be applying to join.”