By Estelle Shirbon
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's main opposition leader has defended his decision to give an interview to Russell Brand, a foul-mouthed comedian who has urged people not to vote, as a way to engage with millions of people who normally shun politics.
Polls show Ed Miliband's Labour party neck-and-neck with Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives ahead of a May 7 election, and his encounter with a man who scorns politicians but has 9.6 million Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) followers is a tactical gamble.
Brand has used his fame to denounce corporate tax avoidance and social inequality but urged followers not to vote because of the "lies, treachery and deceit of the political class".
When news of the interview came out on Tuesday, Cameron dismissed both Brand and Miliband as "a joke" and said "I haven't got time to hang out with Russell Brand".
But Miliband said he wanted to "engage in different ways" with millions of Britons, particularly the young, who weren't listening to politicians and thought voting made no difference.
"The danger is that politics is being played in an increasingly empty stadium," he said.
Miliband was interviewed at Brand's home in London on Monday night. The interview will be aired on Wednesday on Brand's YouTube channel, The Trews, which has 1.1 million subscribers.
A 90-second trailer posted on Tuesday evening had been viewed over 225,000 times by mid-morning on Wednesday.
In it, Miliband is seen arguing against Brand's suggestion that governments are powerless to act against tax avoidance by multi-national companies because of global forces.
"YEAH"
"Of course people share your outrage about companies that don't pay their taxes, and it can be dealt with. But you've got to have a government that is willing to say there is something wrong with this and we're going to deal with it," Miliband says.
"You are that government?" Brand asks. Miliband says "yeah".
Critics said it was not prime ministerial of Miliband to appear with a man who routinely uses expletives to describe politicians and advocates a "revolution".
Pro-Conservative newspapers ridiculed Miliband's performance, accusing him of trying to change the way he talks during the interview to sound more in touch with youth culture.
But supporters said Miliband was right to take on Brand's anti-politics views and to reach out to young people, who are less likely to vote than older people. They noted that Brand's Twitter following dwarfs newspaper circulation figures.
A ComRes poll of people aged 18-24 found 40 percent of them wished more people like Brand would get involved in politics.
"Those sneering at Miliband for being interviewed by a much-followed figure should ask themselves: what have I done to engage disillusioned young people who feel politics have little to offer?" wrote left-wing author Owen Jones in the Guardian.
Cameron has also been lampooned on the campaign trail, particularly after he appeared to forget his favourite football team, declaring himself a West Ham supporter after years of saying he was a fan of Aston Villa.
After Cameron said he had no time to hang out with Brand, the comedian tweeted: "Don't be jealous Dave. I'll run into you at West Ham when you're not busy with 'ordinary people'."
He attached a picture of Cameron as an Oxford student with fellow members of the elitist Bullingdon Club, an image often deployed as evidence of Cameron's privileged background.