Dressed in a silver outfit, Count Binface will challenge Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in his constituency.
London:
When Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer take the stage to hail victory in the British election on Friday, they will be joined in their moment of triumph by a man with a trash can on his head or someone dressed as “Elmo” from the Muppets.
Among the more than 4,500 candidates running in elections for the 650-seat parliament are those from fringe parties, single-issue supporters and, in a peculiarly British tradition, those who are simply making fun of it all.
The best-known figure in this last category is Count Binface, “an intergalactic space warrior, leader of the Recyclons from planet Sigma IX”, who will challenge Prime Minister Sunak in his northern England constituency.
Dressed in a silver outfit with matching cape and wearing a silver trash can as a helmet, Binface says he wants to make the July 4 elections “Independence Day” and that he is the “sensible” choice for the electorate.
“That’s right, under the British system I can stand up against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, it’s brilliant,” Binface, also known as comedian Jonathan Harvey, told Reuters outside Parliament, where he was surrounded by passersby who They asked to take a photo with him.
Binface is now a familiar face – or helmet – in British elections, having faced two former prime ministers, Theresa May in 2017 – albeit then in her former Lord Buckethead guise – and Boris Johnson in 2019. He has also contested the mayor of London elections in 2021 and in May this year, when it received 24,000 votes.
Among his eye-catching policies are promises to cap the price of croissants at £1.10 ($1.39), national service for all former prime ministers and that he should represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest.
“It may be true that on Thursday night or Friday morning I did not beat Rishi Sunak numerically,” said Binface, who has been endorsed by a national newspaper, the irreverent Daily Star tabloid. “But I would say the moral victory will be mine.”
LOONIES
The veterans of the UK comedy candidate genre belong to the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, which was formed in 1982 and has contested elections regularly ever since.
This year features 22 candidates, including Howling ‘Laud’ Hope, party leader Baron Von Thunderclap, and Earl Elvis of East Anglia.
Elsewhere, “AI Steve” hopes to become the world’s first artificial intelligence lawmaker, while the Psychedelic Movement Party candidate in Southend pledges to ignore the law and open 24-hour cannabis cafes.
Some candidates make no secret of using the election for publicity, such as Chris French, who is running after entering his pub “The Mitre” in Richmond, west London, as a political party.
Polls say Labor leader Starmer will be Britain’s next leader. “Elmo” from the Muppets will be competing for his spot.
Like Count Binface, Elmo has run in numerous elections, although Bobby Smith, the man in the furry red suit, is trying to make a serious political point and wants to change the law on parental rights.
Binface himself had a serious message behind the jokes, saying it was important to protect democracy in a year when “more than half of the eligible humans on your planet” would go to the polls.
“I’m here to cherish that, to defend it, to celebrate the fact that anyone in the UK can not only vote, but all of you can stand for election, regardless of your platform or however stupid you may seem,” he said. . “I urge everyone…to get out to vote and most importantly, make your vote count.”
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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