A teenager who got a tattoo of Jeremy Corbyn on his back tells us why he did it
A teenager from York has got a tattoo of British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's face on his back.
Kierran Horsfield, an 18-year-old who recently moved to Australia, decided to get Corbyn's face permanently inked on his body after being inspired by Corbyn's anti-austerity policies.
Horsfield told Business Insider over Facebook:
Jeremy Corbyn is a truly inspirational person. Just when the British public strapped themselves in for 5 more years of brutal austerity without hope of an alternative, JC came out of obscurity to offer a genuine alternative. The tattoo doesn't take itself too seriously but also makes a statement.
The picture above was posted by his friend Megan Ollerhead on Twitter and is going viral. Horsfield sent Business Insider a more recent picture that shows most of the red swelling has now gone down.
His new mates in Australia "don't understand" the tattoo, Horsfield says, as "Australia doesn't have an inspiring politician for a comparison," Horsfield says the reaction from friends back in the UK has been "largely positive". He hasn't shown it to his mum, but did show it to his dad who was left "fairly speechless".
Business Insider asked Horsfield whether he would consider getting another political leader tattooed, but he thinks his Corbyn one is enough for him and "enough for anyone".
Jeremy Corbyn has enjoyed a lot of support from young people in particular, who have rallied behind his message of anti-austerity.
Corbyn was the outside candidate to be elected Labour leader but ended up winning the election by a landslide in September, largely thanks to a wave of grass-roots support.
Still, this is the first instance of a Corbyn tattoo that we know of.