James Cleverly responds to Banksy’s Glastonbury migrant boat and calls it “vile”

1 July, 2024

Glastonbury boat float (Photo by Luke Brennan/Redferns)

Home Secretary James Cleverly has reacted to Bansky’s Glastonbury migrant boat, calling it “vile”.

The MP responded to the new Banksy artwork on Sky News (via The Guardian). The dummy-filled boat was launched in the crowds of IDLES‘ set on the Other Stage on Friday (June 28), unbeknownst to the band, during their pro-immigration track ‘Danny Nedelko’.

Cleverly called the stunt “vile”, saying: “There are a bunch of people there joking and celebrating about criminal actions which costs lives, people die. People die in the Mediterranean, they die in the Channel. This is not funny. It is vile. It is a celebration of the loss of life in the Channel.”

When asked if the boat float was a reference to the Conversatives’ failure to stop the boats, he responded: “Our ability to sort that problem out has been hampered at every stage by the Labour party who aspire to border control.”

“They know that had they supported us, they voted over 130 times to prevent us taking greater control of our borders, the hypocrisy of the left on this issue is breathtaking and to joke about it, to celebrate it at a pop festival when there have been children dying in the Channel is completely unacceptable.”

 

In our five-star review of their show, NME wrote: “Most astonishing, though, is tonight’s performance of ‘Danny Nedelko’. As ever, Talbot describes the song as “a celebration of the bravery and the hard work of the immigrants who built our country”. And then something wholly unexpected (not least among the band themselves) happens. A fake life raft bearing life-jacketed dummies rears up through the audience: it bobs and weaves, lifted by countless outstretched hands that scramble to right the vessel when it upturns.

“The raft, which we later learn was designed by Banksy, drifts towards the stage and Bowen reaches out to it before he flops into the crowd – an unforgettable image from a truly incendiary show. ‘We’ll back to back headline the Pyramid Stage in 2027,’ a bloodied Talbot spits before they leave the stage. You’d better believe it.”

This year’s edition saw headline sets from Dua Lipa, who put on a powerhouse performance to shut down the critics, Coldplay, whose record-breaking fifth headline show was one for the books, and SZA, who proved her place as a headliner for the festival’s closing day.

Check back at NME for the latest Glastonbury 2024 news, reviews, interviews, photos, rumours and more. Check out the NME liveblog here for all the latest Glastonbury action as it happens.

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