Jeremy Corbyn has shared his thoughts on Kneecap and Bob Vylan‘s Palestine stance, saying the bands have expressed their beliefs “in a very good way”.
The former Labour leader and co-founder of the new left-wing party Your Party appeared on the latest episode of the 101 Part Time Jobs podcast.
During a wide-ranging conversation with host Giles Bidder, Corbyn touched upon the political and social importance of music, his lifelong relationship with creativity, and his vision for a fairer, more musical Britain.
At one point in the interview, Bidder put it to Corbyn that people can often “learn more about politics from artists” than from politicians. He then touched on Kneecap’s “very strong” pro-Palestine stance, while referring to similar messaging from Bob Vylan.
“It has been the making of those bands, actually,” said Corbyn, who previously spoke out on Gaza at London’s Wide Awake 2025 – which Kneecap headlined, shortly after member Mo Chara received a terror offence charge.
“Kneecap and Bobby Vylan have done well out of it, in a good way,” Corbyn continued. “I’m not critical of them at all, quite the opposite. But they’ve done it in a very good way.”
When asked how important it is for artists to use their platform, Corbyn responded: “Absolutely crucial. I think you should, and I think there’s nothing wrong whatsoever in an artist of any sort saying, ‘Well, actually, I believe what’s going on in Gaza is wrong. This is why I believe it’s wrong’.
“Or, [they say] ‘I’m donating the proceeds of this number to refugees around the world’. I think that’s good. There are some musicians – well, she’s just retiring now, Joan Baez – [she’s] spent her whole life, basically, performing music for everybody else.”
“I don’t know if she is particularly wealthy. I have no idea, I suspect not. She obviously has a very strong personal moral message about the kind of society she would want to live in – of respect for people, and looking at the opportunities for people that have been cast aside by society,” he continued.
Corbyn argued that Baez had “probably influenced far more people than 1,000 speeches from 10,000 politicians”, adding that artists are able to get through to fans with “powerful” lyrics.
Later, the politician added: “I love listening to rap, but sometimes it’s very hard to follow it all. And you can never find the written-out lyrics of rap, can you? Because there aren’t any. Because it changes so fast. But the skill of a rap artist… with apparently no prompting whatsoever. It’s kind of [a] flight of the mind.”
Speaking on stage at Wide Awake earlier this year, Corbyn urged live music fans to support the “people in a desperate situation in Gaza”.
He also announced that he had tabled a bill in Parliament calling for an inquiry into the British military’s role in Israeli operations in Gaza. Elsewhere in the speech, Corbyn addressed the blockade of aid and food to Gaza – claiming that people there were “being deliberately starved to death”.
The ongoing situation is what an independent United Nations inquiry found to be a genocide in Gaza. However, Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of waging genocide, and denies committing any war crimes. It maintains that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence following Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 2023, which killed over 1,100 people and saw 250 taken as hostages.
Corbyn highlighted the importance of protecting music venues, too. He told the crowd: “In my view, music is something that brings us together, allows us to understand each other, and gives young people the real opportunity to express their creativity and joy of life. So let’s defend festivals, defend music venues…learn music at school and enjoy what comes with it… music inspires people during adversity.”
Over the summer, Corbyn co-founded Your Party with fellow ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana.
Corbyn – who is independent, and has been MP for Islington North since 1983 – promised that an alternative party would be based on “peace rather than war”. He urged: “Let’s look at the humanity of the situation.”
He explained: “If you supply weapons to somebody that is accused of acts of genocide, as the Israeli government is, then you yourself become complicit in those acts as well.”
In July, Corbyn shared a statement from the Independent Alliance, saying that it “unequivocally oppose[d] the proscription of Palestine Action” as a terrorist organisation.
Kneecap rapper Mo Chara – real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” at a gig in London last November. The case was thrown out on a technicality this September. Following the judgement being passed, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed it would appeal the decision to dismiss the case.
Kneecap consistently denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah throughout, and have said they do not incite or condone violence.
In October, Bob Vylan rescheduled their shows in Manchester and Leeds “due to political pressure” from MPs and Jewish leaders.
The backlash followed Bob Vylan’s set at Glastonbury 2025 in June, which was broadcast live on the BBC and saw them lead the crowd in chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]” and “free, free Palestine”.
It was reported in July that police were still investigating Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set. However, it was confirmed at the time that the authorities had dropped their inquiry into Kneecap’s performance at the festival.
Earlier this week, police said a man in his 30s had been interviewed by police over comments made on stage during a performance by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury Festival this year.
In June, it was confirmed that Kneecap would face no further action for their alleged past comments about Conservative MPs. They are said to have told a crowd at a 2023 live show: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Counter-terrorism police also investigated video footage of the moment.
Both bands have faced backlash from MPs over the controversies. Speaking to NME in August, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Kneecap shouldn’t be performing at Glastonbury, and I don’t support inciting violence as free speech.”
The PM had previously been among the politicians who had called for the Irish rap trio to be removed from the Glasto ’25 line-up.
“I think it’s important that we distinguish the issues we all care about and should be spoken about freely on the one hand, and then the incitement to violence on the other,” Starmer told NME. “They’re two different things.”
Kneecap defended their “satirical” live sets, arguing: “It’s not our job to tell people what’s a joke and what’s not.” Kneecap subsequently claimed that the government and their critics “want to make us seem small”.
When NME asked the PM about the importance of rising talent using their platform to speak out, he replied: “There’s a huge difference between speaking out about what’s happening in parts of the world. All of us are concerned by what we’re seeing in Gaza – whether that’s the continued detention of hostages or the intolerable lack of aid that we’re seeing, starvation… everybody should be able to speak out about that.”
The following month, Starmer announced the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state, per BBC News.
Last month, Kneecap responded to the CPS’s plans to appeal the decision to throw out the terror charge. “This is political policing,” they said. “[…] We will fight you in your court again. We will win again.”
Ó hAnnaidh had previously said he was considering taking legal action himself against the British state.
Kneecap wrapped up their winter UK tour last weekend. Last month, they announced their biggest headline gig yet, set to take place at London’s Crystal Palace Park next summer. They’ve also confirmed slots at Primavera Sound Barcelona, Primavera Sound Porto and Boomtown.
They recently released a new single featuring Sub Focus, ‘No Comment’, which is “all about getting harassed by the British State”.
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