Rylan Clark says “nothing is ever off limits” as he was asked whether he would consider standing for Parliament.
The 35-year-old TV presenter revealed the 2016 Brexit referendum sparked a passion for politics that regularly sees him tuning into Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on a Wednesday. Rylan, who can regularly be seen on This Morning, even went as far as saying BBC Parliament is his “favourite reality show”.
Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Rylan revealed he has some radical ideas about how he would change Parliament. These include abolishing the political party system and making candidates run as individuals, something he says would lead to the “Power Rangers of government.”
He explained: “I’m just getting to this point, and it’s completely outlandish and crazy, but hear me out, I feel now or very soon is the time for partyless politics, now what we need to do is abolish these parties and get rid of all of this. Get rid of the red, get rid of the blues, get rid of the greens, get rid of the yellows, get rid of everything and keep the House of Commons.
“Anyone who wants to be an MP, can run to be an MP. Between the MPs there’s an internal poll of the 300-odd of them, that then decide the top six or top 10 people that they want to run the country and then a Prime Minister is selected.”
He went on to query what would happen if politicians worked together, suggesting Rishi Sunak could appear on a Sir Keir Starmer cabinet, or vice versa, something he said had the potential to be the “Power Rangers of government.”
Rylan, who admits he is “obsessed” with politics, says that while he doesn’t think the voting age should be lowered, he believes politicians should be considering young people as their future voters. He explained: “What politicians need is to start realising that the generation that is going to keep those in power, are the younger generation more than the older generation.
“This whole generation gap that everyone talks about, it’s not really that big, for anyone in power, look I don’t envy them because it’s always going to be hard to please everyone, but I do think that younger voters are, ultimately, going to be the ones affected most by the change that’s about to happen.”
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PA Media)
Rylan joked he would “look lovely” behind the Downing Street lectern and, when asked by Sky’s Beth Rigby, said he would never rule-out the chance to run for Parliament. He said: “If I wasn’t in the job that I was in, I would love nothing more.
“I lay there in bed at night and think about Zelenskyy, people like that, he hosted one of the same shows I’ve hosted in Ukraine. It’s crazy to think you could do something, think ‘oh this will be a laugh and see what happens’ and the next thing you know you’re leading your country through a war.
“So, look nothing is ever off limits, I don’t ever sit there and think ‘look, yeah, I’m going to run and be a politician, but I want to be able to sit there and say ‘oh if I was running the country things would be much better,’ but you don’t know unless you’re in that position and I think it’s silly for anyone to sit there and say this country will be better off with me running it because until you’re running it you don’t know what you’re going to run into.”
Rylan said he would “never rule out” moving into politics and says it could be a career plan for when he decides to “hang up the veneers”.
Rylan would not be the first celebrity to consider running for Parliament, with former glamour model Katie Price standing as an independent candidate in the Stretford and Urmston constituency in 2001, gaining 713 votes. The winner, Labour’s Beverley Hughes, secured 23,836 votes.
Meanwhile Happy Mondays percussionist Bez, real name Mark Berry, gained 703 votes when he stood in the 2015 General Election in Salford and Eccles. Labour’s Rebecca Long-Bailey won with 21,364.