Election 2015: Comedian Jo Brand blasts Tories over NHS as she backs Labour

Comedian Jo Brand has followed in Martin Freeman's footsteps and has revealed her support of Labour ahead of the general election.

The 57-year-old has starred in a video for Ed Miliband's party and explained her experience as a nurse made her back Labour.

"There's an election coming up, you might know that and we all have our own personal axes to grind. Mine is what's going to happen to the NHS," she said. "Not because of my undeniable status as a national fitness icon, but because once upon a time I used to be a nurse."

She added: "And, by the way, I'm sick of the way nurses get slagged off all of the time in the press. I mean come on, the vast majority of them are hard-working, committed, amazing human beings.

"Because, to my mind, a decent civilised society looks after its people when they're ill and doesn't present them with a bill at the end of it. But what I'm seeing now – little-by-little – the NHS being pulled apart. 'By whom?' you might ask. A clue: it's not the Labour Party."

Brand went on to repeat Ed Balls's allegation that a Tory government would hit the NHS with "extreme cuts".

"Let's be honest about it, if they get back in the NHS as we know it wouldn't survive the next five years. Why? Because they are planning even more extreme cuts, we know that," she claimed.

But the Tories recently pledged to give the NHS an extra £8bn a year to fill the health service's £30bn a year spending gap.

The endorsement comes after The Hobbit star Freeman appeared in a Labour video calling on people to vote for the party and Miliband.

Elsewhere, The Voice UK winner Jermain Jackman told IBTimes UK his trousers ripped when he sang at Labour's spring rally in Birmingham in March.

The 20-year-old singer also disclosed that Miliband is one of his friends and revealed the Labour leader phoned to congratulate him after he won The Voice.

The Tories have also received some star support ahead of the election on 7 May, with Apprentice judge Karren Brady and former England footballer Sol Campbell backing David Cameron.

But legendary actor and comedian John Cleese has backed the Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg, whereas fashion designer Vivienne Westwood has donated £300,000 ($447,699) to the Green Party.

The Only Way Is Essex star Joey Essex, meanwhile, described Nigel Farage as "really reem [cool]" when the two met earlier in April.