Drag queen pro wrestler Sandra Spitz hopes to take on Keir Starmer in elections

A drag queen pro wrestler is set to take on Keir Starmer in the upcoming local elections on 7 May, representing the Greens for Newham, East London.

Steven Braines spoke to the Daily Star about his candidacy. “The party numbers have soared under Zack Polanski and people now see that the Greens have a chance of winning, especially after the Gorton and Denton byelection,” he said.

On election day, Braines is set to perform at the queer-owned Hustle Wrestling in Hackney as his alter ego Sandra Spitz.

Sandra’s comedic wrestling routines have been gaining attention on social media recently, and even piqued the interest of Lana Del Rey and fellow drag queen Violet Chachki, who both follow her on Instagram.

“Sandra is a Blackpool landlady whose magician husband left her for his new assistant Abraca-Debra,” Braines explained. “She started as a stand-up character and was born from skits my flatmate and I were doing during lockdown when we were bored.”

He continued: “It takes me about five minutes to get ready in her costume. It’s very much of the Lily Savage style of drag. But I like to put the costume on, I feel like a court jester a little bit. You can speak truth to power using the character.”

After being a Labour voter for most of his life, Braines recently severed ties with the party citing disappointment over Starmer’s leadership.

“As someone who has a lot of trans friends, I saw how the Labour government let those people down. I was disappointed with their stance on Gaza, the winter fuel cut and how slow they were at lifting the two-child benefit cap,” he said.

“It just didn’t feel like a typical Labour government. I know they have done some good things, but Keir Starmer is not my favourite choice for Labour leader.”

Now representing the Green Party, Braines spoke highly of party leader Zack Polanski’s approach to politics.

“I like that Zack Polanski has the attitude of, ‘we might not agree on everything, but as long as we have the same moral outlook, we’ll be ok,’” he shared.

“I also like how their councillors aren’t whipped to vote in line. I think there are many things that should be a matter of conscience. So, unless there is a huge policy lurch, the Greens are my home now.”

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