Sam Fender says people were "groomed to hate" Jeremy Corbyn

1 February 2022, 13:52

Sam Fender and Jeremy Corbyn. Picture: 1. Jon Mo Photography 2. Ki Price/Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The Seventeen Going Under singer has criticised the current UK Government and talked about the former Labour leader.

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Sam Fender believes that people were "groomed to hate" Jeremy Corbyn.

The North Shields singer recently spoke to The Big Issue about poverty, politics and the former Labour leader, who was replaced by Sir Keir Starmer in 2022.

As reported by The Independent, the singer-songwriter admitted he "loved" Corbyn, despite his mistakes, and shared his sadness that the people who may have needed his help the most came to hate him.

“I loved Corbyn, quite frankly,” he told the outlet. “I mean, he f***ed up a lot of things. But I think his heart was in the right place and that’s something that we’ve not seen for a long time.

“I just think he was done a massive disservice by the British press. And I think a lot of people who he would have potentially helped, were groomed to hate him.”

He continued: "The Tory party knew exactly what they were doing when it comes to turning him into a f***ing enemy.”

Speaking about poverty in the UK in general, Fender said: "I think I need to do some more stuff to do with this. Because the Tories aren’t doing it.

"We’ve got the worst Government I’ve ever seen, in my lifetime. My dad reckons it’s one of the worst he’s ever seen. And he’s sixty-f***ng-six".

Poverty and homelessness is a cause close to Sam Fender's heart and he previously launched a petition to make homeless helplines free in the North East.

The initiative came shortly after he released his cover of Lindisfarne's Winter Song in 2020, which saw him work with The Big Issue and collaborate with People of The Streets for his lyric video.

Speaking about his decision to help shed a light on homelessness, he revealed: "It's quite close to my heart because my stepdad was homeless for a year and a bit when he came out of forces and I know how debilitating that was on his life, how hard it was to get back into work and to have his own place and stuff".

As for the song itself, which evokes imagery of homelessness in its lyrics, he remarked: "It's over 50 years old and it's probably more relevant today than it was back then."