Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been pictured playing Thatcher’s Techbase, a modded version of Doom that pits players against Margaret Thatcher.
Corbyn was spotted playing Thatcher’s Techbase at The World Transformed, a festival of “radical politics, art and culture” that concludes tomorrow (September 27).
Thatcher’s Techbase creator Jim Purvis took photos of Corbyn playing the arcade shooter, and shared that he “liked the game.”
He liked the game 🙂 pic.twitter.com/fD9VuNVvYZ
— Jim (@letshugbro) September 25, 2022
An Arcade Edition for Thatcher’s Techbase debuted at the festival to raise money for Living Rent, an organisation that campaigns for “safe, secure and affordable housing for everyone.”
The Arcade Edition tasks players – Corbyn included – with grabbing “a high score against CyberThatcher’s hordes on real arcade hardware,” with Purvis adding that it includes “new enemies and map layouts to take on.”
In 2021, Purvis told NME why he had decided to cast the late baroness as a demonic villain in his Doom mod.
“I’m from a town called Coatbridge – just outside Glasgow – that was badly affected by Thatcher’s infamous policies on heavy industry and social housing in the 1980s,” shared Purvis. “I was born the year Thatcher left office, but her presence was felt throughout my childhood and even into my twenties and thirties.”
“Almost everyone I know was affected by the decisions of the Thatcher government in some way or another, and we’re still seeing her ghost all over the place in our current socio-political situation,” continued Purvis. “She was a satanic figure in Scottish culture well before I turned her into a cybernetic demon.”
We’ve reached out to Corbyn’s office for comment, and will update this story if we hear back.
Last week, the UK government was warned that musicians and touring crew “could find themselves unemployed en masse” thanks to damage caused by Brexit. Fans have been encouraged to write to their local MPs to demand action.
