Russell Howard is slowly becoming one of Britain’s most respected comedians for a very simple reason – because he isn’t afraid to put his career in jeopardy by routinely challenging the burning injustices and political piss takes that blight all of our lives.
Howard recently switched from his slot on BBC Three to team up with Sky One – a move which has seen Howard’s politicial passions truly unleashed for all to see.
Whether the BBC was stifling his creativity in the name of ‘impartiality’ we will almost certainly never know, but since Howard’s reemergence on Sky One, he has upped his game immensely, routinely destroying the Tories and our world leaders for essentially taking the piss out of their electorates.
Political comedy, when done right, is absolutely critical to a functioning democracy. It has the power to brutally expose the injustice and unfairness meted out by our elected leaders, whilst simultaneously inflaming the dormant passions of increasingly apathetic modern societies.
Howard is able to combine his irreverent and absurdist humour with some of the most controversial and challenging subjects of our time – a skill which only a few are able to do with success.
George Carlin was a genius at it, whilst more recently, comedians such as Stewart Lee, Frankie Boyle and Jonathan Pie have been tearing up the Establishment narrative – and now, Howard is truly staking a strong claim to join their esteemed ranks.
A new clip on Britain’s outrageously unjust housing crisis from Howard’s latest Sky One show – the Russell Howard Hour – is going viral, and for very good reason.
Howard begins by ripping into politician-landlords, and their disdain for ordinary tenants, stating:
123 MPs are landlords. Tories, Labour, Lib Dems, SNP – they’ve all got skin in the game.
How can the tenant win?
[Tenant] “There’s a hole in my roof – I’m going to write to my local MP.”
[MP] “I am your local MP!”
[Tenant] “This house isn’t fit for a human!”
[MP] I know! We passed a new law! Humans aren’t humans any more! You’re a mouse!
Howard continues:
The level of contempt governments can have for people is shocking. Just look what Nick Clegg claims David Cameron and George Osborne said to him:
[Cameron & Osborne] “I don’t understand why you keep going on about the need for more social housing – it just creates Labour voters!”
How f*cking dare you treat people like that.
It doesnt even make sense!!
[Tories] “If we give poor people stuff they’ll turn against us!
No they won’t!! They’d be delighted!
They’re not going to take the keys and go:
“OHHHH Jeremy Coooorrrrbyn!”
Howard then goes on to beautifully satirise the ‘social segregation’ of ‘poor doors’ – entrances that separate rich people from social or affordable housing tenants – that are currently being installed on new-build ‘affordable housing:
As it stands, the government only builds 1% of the new homes in Britain – meaning that private companies are providing homes for vulnerable families – and that’s why we have ‘poor doors’.
Do you know what a ‘poor door’ is?
When a company builds a big new shiny block of flats, they have a grand entrance at the front for the rich people, and around the back they have a separate entrance for the affordable homes.
It’s shocking isn’t it:
Rich people: here! Scum: use the cat flap!
That’s not social housing – that’s social segregation.
Howard then finishes his pertinent rant by utterly decimating the Tories’ claims that there isn’t enough money to build more houses. He then goes on to absolutely castigate the government for not doing enough to prevent Grenfell from happening, and having complete disdain for the suffering of ordinary people in the aftermath, stating:
All we hear is:
[Tories]: We cant build enough houses! There’s no money!
Bullsh*t.
Kensingston and Chelsea Council had a budget surplus of £274m. Over 60 people died in the fire at Grenfell, and hundreds more lost everything.
And do you know how much it would have reportedly cost to have fire-resistant cladding fitted?
Five Grand. £5,000.
And not only did they have £274m in the bank, but in 2015 they gave an opera group £5m.
People need sprinklers. Not f*cking Pavarotti.
Howard then finishes with a devastating anti-Tory crescendo:
We have a housing crisis in this country. So if you’re a Tory MP: a house is a f*cking house.
Actually, it’s more than that: it’s a home.
It’s a place to sleep and laugh and cry and love and sing and eat, and everyone needs one.
And if there’s money for the Queen, or money in a Council’s bank account, then there’s money to make sure something like Grenfell never EVER happens again.
Howard’s brutally honest Tory-decimation is going viral for a very good reason: because, whilst being utterly absurd and utterly despicable in their nature, every single hypocrisy or injustice that Howard exposes has happened because the people of Britain continue to vote for the party that brazenly and unapologetically creates them.
You can watch it below:
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