Jonathan Allum, Dr Helen Hintjens, Dr Daniel Gay and Andy Ruff respond to an article by George Monbiot on the comedian’s far-right conspiracy theories
I never shared George Monbiot’s admiration for Russell Brand and so I’m not quite so bitterly disappointed that the comedian seems to have disappeared down a conspiracist rabbit hole (I once admired Russell Brand. But his grim trajectory shows us where politics is heading, 10 March). I would also be reluctant to cite him as a reason to despair about the politics of “younger people”.
For a start, Brand is not that young – at 47, he is five years older than the prime minister. Is he really such an influence on the genuinely young? He gets a lot of views on YouTube, but the values of the young, especially in relation to climate change, are closer to Monbiot’s than Brand’s.
