Steve Coogan has delivered a scathing assessment of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, accusing him of lacking conviction and even praising former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for at least standing for something.
Speaking to promote the fourth season of his acclaimed From the Oasthouse podcast in which he reprises his iconic Alan Partridge character, Coogan didn’t hold back when asked about the current political landscape.
A longtime Labour supporter, Coogan expressed clear disillusionment with Starmer’s leadership just one year into his premiership.
“I think that almost everything is just political. I don’t think he has any ideology,” Coogan said. “I think every decision he makes is, ‘What is the most politically expedient thing to say and think?’”
His most stinging line was a comparison with the Iron Lady: “And it makes me admire – which I never thought I’d say – Margaret Thatcher for at least having an ideology and a point of view.
“And a vision. I didn’t agree with it, but at least she had one. He doesn’t have one. So I am not an ally.”
This is quite the turn for Coogan, who famously interviewed Tony Blair in character as Alan Partridge at the 1996 Labour Party Conference.
That particular stunt was almost derailed when he and co-creator Armando Iannucci missed their original flight to Manchester. Coogan just made the next one, but had to fly in full Partridge costume, briefcase and all.
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Coogan’s takedown of Starmer in the i Paper is especially significant given the timing.
As the UK navigates a shifting political landscape, with Reform UK rising in the polls and traditional parties grappling with ideological identity, his comments capture the broader feeling of disillusionment from once-reliable Labour allies.
The verdict on Starmer also comes amid a busy year for Coogan.
Beyond Partridge, he recently played a teacher in junta-era Argentina in The Penguin Lessons, starred in the Joker sequel, and portrayed Brian Walden opposite Dame Harriet Walter’s Margaret Thatcher in Brian and Maggie.
And Partridge is far from retired. A new TV project, Alan Partridge: How Are You?, will see the Norfolk broadcaster exploring mental health, “trying to find some sort of meaning.”
Whether the meaning is genuine or performative, Coogan suggested even Partridge isn’t quite sure. “I think he’s probably not sure whether his trying to find meaning in life is what he really thinks, or what he thinks he ought to think.”
Coogan has always enjoyed the freedom his alter ego gives him to tackle controversial issues with a satirical edge.
“You can sort of talk about anything, but in a way that I couldn’t, you know. Gender politics, fine. Black Lives Matter, absolutely fine for Alan to go there. It feels a bit like you’re stealing apples from someone’s garden. It feels a bit naughty,” he said.