Surrounded by more than 30 other candidates vying for a seat in parliament, including three representatives of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and a candidate from the “Everyone is God” party, Count Binface stated: “I am grateful that after this election I have managed to cement my success by coming to hear the verdict of the good people of Clacton.” He appeared in a silver-black outfit with a matching cloak and a silver trash can on his head as a helmet at the sports center of the southern English seaside town of Clacton.
The by-election in Clacton took place on Thursday after the leader of the populist Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, resigned his parliamentary mandate, stating that voters should evaluate his work amid an investigation into his finances. None of the major parties fielded candidates. One of Farage’s main rivals was Count Binface — “an intergalactic space warrior, leader of the Recyclons from the planet Sigma IX,” and in reality, comedian Jonathan Harvey.
Although Farage won confidently with 22,239 votes, which is 63% of the total votes cast, he did not appear at the announcement of the results, as is customary. Farage stated that he was warned about possible protests and unrest. Binface received nearly 9,500 votes — about 27% of the total. “I am in no way going to stand on stage, having won a resounding victory… and be humiliated and disrespected by someone,” Farage told supporters.
Tradition of comedy candidates
Despite the absence of the Labour Party of Prime Minister Andy Burnham and other major opposition parties, a total of 34 candidates competed for the parliamentary seat. Most, like Binface, participated in the elections for fun, to promote individual issues, or to draw attention to local problems. In the UK, any citizen over the age of 18 can run for parliament, except for a small number of people such as police officers, by paying a deposit of 500 pounds sterling. This amount is returned if the candidate receives more than 5% of the votes.
Among the veterans of the British genre of comedy candidates are representatives of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party — a party founded in 1982 that has regularly participated in elections since then. In Clacton, it fielded three candidates — Nick the Incredible Flying Brick, Baron von Thunderclap, and its leader Howling Laud Hope. Together they received only 61 votes. Among other participants, Woke Trump CarrZee received only eight votes.
History and future of Count Binface
No comedy character has ever achieved such success as Binface, whose election program included a promise to “lower your taxes and raise taxes for everyone else.” He was already known for running in elections against four British prime ministers: Theresa May (in his previous guise as Lord Buckethead), Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, and Andy Burnham. In the June vote, Burnham returned to parliament before replacing Keir Starmer.
“In Makerfield, eight weeks ago, I got 95 votes. So compared to Nigel Farage and Andy Burnham, I am 1000 times more popular,” said Binface, disregarding the obvious mathematical error. “Does this have any relation to why he is not here tonight, on the night they thought they would get over 80%?”
If the parliamentary investigation into Farage concludes that he violated the rules by not declaring a gift of 5 million pounds sterling (6.75 million dollars) from a billionaire cryptocurrency investor, he could face suspension from parliamentary work and possibly a by-election in which he would have to defend his mandate.
If this happens, Binface will return. “See you at the second part of the by-election in Clacton, soon at your leisure center,” he said.
Source: The Straits Times
