Russell Brand outlines vision for "new economic enterprise"

The comedy star has previously helped locals protesting against rent increases and possible eviction on the estate.

Now he has outlined his vision of a chain of self-supporting non-profit social enterprises – which would even have their own currency.

The left-wing activist said he is donating all his money from paperback sales of his book, Revolution, to the Trew Era Cafe, which fuses the estate’s name with that of his YouTube show, The Trews.

It will be staffed by recovering addicts undergoing “abstinence-based recovery”.

He was joined at the opening by local residents and a crowd of around 200 supporters.

Addressing the crowd outside the cafe, he said: “It is a model that is not for profit, a fully self-supporting, new economic enterprise.

“We will start more and more of these social enterprises, eventually we will trade with one another in our own currency. We are going to create our own systems, our own federations, our own currencies, our own authorities.”

He accused mainstream political parties of abandoning people on inner city estates, saying: “As long as you have only got parties that are interested in causing division, hatred and representing big businesses, we will create our own systems.

“Politics is dead, this is the end of politics. What we are discussing is what comes after, something worse or something better.”

He added that “it is not a charity, it is a new business model”, describing it as a place for local people to get together and eat food grown and made in the community. It has already set up agri-enterprises including bee hives for honey and chickens for eggs, he said.