Jeremy Corbyn had a hilarious dig at Theresa May's field of wheat comment at Glastonbury
He's *appalled* by the whole thing
It looked like Jeremy Corbyn had a right laugh at Glastonbury this weekend.
He posed for photos, pulled pints, and gave an impassioned speech up on the Pyramid Stage ahead of Run the Jewels’ set on Saturday afternoon.
He used the speech to tell the crowd how, in the run-up to the election, the “elites got it wrong”. He went on to talk about how more support needs to be given to young people, attacked Donald Trump, and spoke with heart about inequality, racism and the environment.
He ended by quoting Percy Byssche Shelly, who Corbyn described as one of his favourite poets, reading to the audience: “Rise like lions after slumber, in unvanquishable number, shake your chains to earth like dew, which in sleep had fallen on you – ye are many, they are few.”
While Corbyn used his main stage speech to tackle serious matters, he was a little more playful during this interview with the NME, in which he was asked whether he would ever dare to run through a field of wheat – something Theresa May now infamously admitted was the “naughtiest thing” she had ever done.
Clearly enjoying the moment said, with tongue very much in cheek: “I grew up in the countryside in Wiltshire and then later in Shropshire. I was taught from a very, very early age you walk round the edge of a cropped field.
“You don’t walk through a field of wheat because it will damage the wheat.
“I’m totally shocked that anyone would run through a wheat field and damage wheat.
“It’s a terrible thing to do.”
Theresa May of course told ITV that running through a field of wheat as a child was the naughtiest thing she’d ever done.
Flustered, she told interviewer Julie Ethingham: “I can’t think what the naughtiest thing…Well, nobody is ever perfectly behaved, are they?
“I have to confess, when me and my friend, sort of, used to run through the fields of wheat, the farmers weren’t too pleased about that.”
Chants of “Ohhh Jeremy Corbyn” rang round Worthy Farm all weekend, including at the silent disco, and during Stormzy’s set, when the grime artist himself led the chant from the stage.
If you’re interested and fancy a bit of reading, here is Corbyn’s Pyramid Stage speech in full:
“Michael, don’t go! Michael, don’t go! Can you all give it up for Michael Eavis? Michael, I’ve got a gift for you here, it says, ‘Michael, the inspiration that gave space to millions through Glastonbury.’ Thank you Michael Eavis for all that you’ve done.
“I want to say thank you to Michael for lending us his farm, for giving his space all those years ago for people to come here, enjoy music, enjoy good company and enjoy inspiring thought. Michael you paved the way for all of us. You brought the spirit of music, you brought the spirit of love, you brought the spirit of ideas and you brought the spirit of great messages and if you can see that far, look on the wall right over there that surrounds this wonderful festival. There’s a message on that wall for President Donald Trump. Do you know what it says? Build bridges not walls.
“Do you know politics is actually about everyday life. It’s about all of us, what we dream, what we want, and what we want for everybody else. What was fascinating about the last seven weeks of election campaigning around Britain was that the commentariat got it wrong. The elites got it wrong. Politics is about the lives of all of us, and the wonderful campaign that I was involved with, that I was so proud to lead, brought people back into politics because they believed there was something on offer for them.
“But what was even more inspiring was the number of young people who got involved for the first time. Because they were fed up with being denigrated, fed up with being told they don’t matter. Fed up with being told they never participate, and utterly fed up with being told that their generation was going to pay more to get less in education, in health, in housing, in pensions and everything else.