Sir Elton John becomes latest celebrity to endorse Sir Keir Starmer's Labour party

29 June 2024, 18:46 | Updated: 29 June 2024, 20:14

Global superstar Sir Elton John has become the latest celebrity to endorse Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party ahead of the general election.

Sir Elton expressed his support for the party alongside his husband, David Furnish, in a video message played at Labour’s campaign rally in London.

With less than a week to until the 4 July election, Sir Elton's message to supporters was centred around the poor condition of the creative industries and the pledges made by Labour’s election manifesto to improve them.

In the video, the singer-songwriter said it is "heartbreaking to see Britain's next generation of creative talent downtrodden and destroyed by democracy and red tape".

He says the cultural education that was instrumental in his career is "drying up and in danger of dying out completely".

Mr Furnish added that it is "madness to treat a hugely successful sector with such disdain, particularly one that has been the envy of the world for decades".

Discussing Labour’s manifesto, he said it "sets out sensible and practical proposals that promise to give every young person a creative education and help young and emerging musicians achieve the routes to success that have been cruelly and pointlessly snatched away from them".

The party has traditionally enjoyed strong support from the creative industry with Sir Elton, who has previously backed the Labour Party, revealing he was a fan of Tony Blair in 2006.

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Read more: Sunak wades into trans row between Kemi Badenoch and David Tennant after Dr Who star told minister to 'shut up'

The musician appeared after a host of other celebrities who gave messages of support for the party.

Bill Bailey, the comedian; Kit Harrington, the actor and Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden all endorsed Sir Keir’s party.

This comes after Bill Nighby, Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes were among the famous faces to sign a letter endorsing Labour to “end the political chaos”.

Some 131 senior figures from the arts sector put their names to the letter urging 'change' published in the Times.

The letter read: “As leaders, investors and practitioners in the creative industries we believe that our country needs change.

“We want a government that will value the creative industries and put them at the heart of the drive for growth. Our industry would benefit from the ambition of a Labour government.”

The letter argued that Labour would “end the political chaos of recent years and ensure economic stability”.

This is following a row between David Tennant, who was named Celebrity Ally at the British LGBT awards on Friday, and Kemi Badenoch, after the actor had some choice words to say about the equalities minister when discussing trans rights at the ceremony.

The former Dr Who star said of the Conservative Cabinet minister: "I don't wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up."

Ms Badenoch accused him in turn of being a "rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology".

She said: "I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.”