Steve Coogan claims working class is being ‘ethnically cleansed'
The Alan Partridge actor told BBC Breakfast that the redevelopment of major northern cities did not 'actually benefit' the working class.
Coogan, who endorsed the Green Party in last year's general election, appeared on the programme to promote co-operatives, which he said fought back against 'big business'.
'The problem with all these cities like Liverpool and Manchester is they've got all these big shiny buildings,' he said.
'But all the people who are disenfranchised have been ethnically cleansed from the area. They don't actually benefit.
'What the Co-operative movement does is tries to keep that money in the area and empower people and try to mitigate and push back against the effects of big business.'
Coogan's remarks appeared to be a criticism of gentrification rather than mass migration.
Going on to accuse Reform UK of ' racist rhetoric ', he added: 'What it's about is the system, the political system isn't really working for most working people.
'From the economy to public services, it just isn't having any kind of effect for ordinary people.
'The Government leans into big business and cosies up to them without actually delivering for working people. So people are struggling. They're ignored.'
'Reform's racist rhetoric'
Coogan continued: 'We've seen all these benefits cuts from the party that is supposed to represent ordinary hard-working people and the Co-operative movement is basically the best way out of that.
'If the Government want to stop Reform making all these gains, instead of dealing with the symptoms of the problem by leaning into the racist rhetoric of Reform, they can deal with that by helping working people and the best way of doing that is to support the Co-operative movement.'
Coogan is a former Labour supporter who endorsed Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.
He signed a letter in October 2024 saying Britain was 'aiding and abetting' alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
During the interview, he also took aim at supermarkets and other large companies, which he said had 'driven out' smaller businesses in 'dying' post-industrial areas.
He said: 'If you're a small business owner you're going to get driven out of business by people like Tesco who come along, build a huge.
'Any money that's generated [by a Co-operative] is kept in the local economy so it supports local business, supports social initiatives, so the money doesn't get sucked out by huge extraction that takes place on a global scale so that you create microeconomies where people support each other both socially and economically.
'And these towns in the post-industrial landscape that are dying can be reinvigorated. And the Co-op has demonstrably done that throughout the world and yet it started in this country and it's largely ignored in this country.
'So what I'm trying to do is shine a light on it and say local Co-operative movement. That's the best way out of any dire economic situation.'
Coogan previously attracted criticism for calling Conservative voters 'ill-informed' and 'ignorant' before the 2019 election and saying earlier this year that Margaret Thatcher was so lacking in empathy that she would be diagnosed with a disorder today.
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