AMERICAN expats in Oxford gathered outside the Clarendon Building in the heart of the city today to hear from an unlikely busker armed with a guitar.
World-famous musician and lifelong political activist Billy Bragg performed for a crowd of more than 100 people this afternoon in a bid to encourage US nationals living and studying in the UK to vote for Bernie Sanders in the upcoming US election.
Mr Bragg’s political ballad addressed problems now synonymous with the Trump administration including climate, fake news and the Me Too movement .
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The award-winning musician also made a timely jab at the Boris Johnson and this weekend’s announcement that he and his fiancee are expecting a child.
Mr Bragg said: “This is ridiculous – imagine if Jeremy Corbyn had one kid out of wedlock his life would have been made a misery.
“Do not tell me we live in a free country.”
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He also warned: “Now that we are out of the European Union we have to work very hard not to drift to the direction of Washington.”
The musician, who can often be spotted at picket lines and political meetings, said he believed in rallies like yesterday's because it ‘fires up the spirit of the audience’.
He also revealed plans to gig in Milwaukee,Wisconsin, during the run-up to the American election.
Another headliner in the Sunday campaign rally was Oxford resident Larry Sanders, brother of the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, who is also a staunch supporter of the Green Party.
Volunteers from the Oxford chapter of Democrats Abroad cruised around the energetic crowd and urged people to register to vote.
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Organiser of the event Aisha Ahmed said: "We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to elect an extremely honest and consistent candidate for President – somebody with a global outlook who is anti-war and somebody who not only thinks about American working class but about the global working class too.
“If you are an American in Oxford then you should definitely vote for Bernie but even if you are not you will benefit from seeing him in the White House.”
Bernie Sanders is favourite to win a majority of votes this week on so-called 'Super Tuesday' where Democrats in 14 states – and living abroad – cast their ballots.
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