By Marissa Davison
CLACTON-ON-SEA, England, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Surrounded by more than 30 other prospective parliamentarians including three “loonies” and someone from the Everyone is God party, Count Binface basked in the greatest result ever achieved by one of Britain’s traditional joke election candidates.
“I’m gratified that after this election I have been able to put the seal on it by coming to get the verdict of the good people of Clacton,” said Binface, dressed in a silver and black outfit with matching cape and wearing a silver trash can as a helmet, in a sports centre in the southern English seaside town.
The Clacton by-election was held on Thursday after populist Reform UK leader Nigel Farage resigned his parliamentary seat, saying voters should judge him amid an investigation into his finances.
But none of the major parties put up candidates, leaving Count Binface, “an intergalactic space warrior, leader of the Recyclons from planet Sigma IX” — but in fact comedian Jonathan Harvey — as his main challenger.
Although Farage won comfortably with 22,239 votes, 63% of votes cast, he did not turn up to the result as is customary, saying he had been warned he would face protest and disruption. Binface polled almost 9,500, some 27% of those cast.
“I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage having won a resounding victory … and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies,” Farage told supporters.
In total, despite the absence of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Labour and the other main opposition parties, there were 34 candidates competing for the seat, with most, like Binface, doing so as part of a tradition of standing in elections for fun, on single issues or over local concerns.
In Britain, barring a small number of people such as police officers, any UK citizen who is over 18 can stand for parliament, paying a £500 deposit which they get back if they poll more than 5% of the vote.
THREE LOONIES IN VOTE
The veterans of the UK comedy candidate genre belong to the Official Monster Raving Loony Party which was formed in 1982 and has regularly contested elections ever since.
It fielded three candidates in Clacton — Nick the Incredible Flying Brick, Baron von Thunderclap and its leader Howling Laud Hope — winning a combined 61 votes. Amongst other contestants, Woke Trump CarrZee got just eight.
No comedy character has ever managed the success of Binface, whose policies included a pledge to “cut your taxes and raise everyone else’s”.
He was already a familiar figure, having stood in elections against four British prime ministers: Theresa May — in a former guise of Lord Buckethead — Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Burnham, in a vote in June in which Burnham returned to parliament before taking over from Keir Starmer.
“In Makerfield, eight weeks ago, I got 95 votes. So against Nigel Farage compared to Andy Burnham, I am 1,000 times more popular,” Binface said, without acknowledging any mathematical error. “Does that have anything to do with why he isn’t here tonight on a night when they said they thought they’d get over 80%?”If a parliamentary investigation into Farage concludes that he breached rules by not declaring a £5 million ($6.75 million) gift from a billionaire cryptocurrency investor, he could face suspension and possibly another vote to retain his seat. If that happens, Binface will be back.
“Let’s all meet for part two of the Clacton by-election, coming soon to a leisure centre near you,” he said.
(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
