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Russell Brand is not on the left and should not be defended
The millionaire celebrity’s attitude towards women was on open display long before the recent criminal allegations — he is no left-wing, anti-establishment hero, writes HELEN O’CONNOR

WOMEN across the world are suffering an unprecedented assault on our rights but a collective fightback is also starting to grow.

The women’s rights movement is developing in an uneven and confused way, with conservative political forces positioning themselves as champions of women’s rights when nothing could be further from the truth.

The defence of Russell Brand by some on the left signifies that we continue to have a woman problem. A key question we should ask ourselves is why the left consistently fails to put women’s interests at the heart of our movement.

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