Count Binface may have come up short in the by-election against Nigel Farage, but don’t throw his popularity in the trash just yet. The candidate wearing a garbage can on his head just won over a quarter of the votes in a contest against one of Britain’s most famous politicians.
The longtime satirical candidate had his best showing yet in a surreal campaign triggered by Farage’s own resignation.
Binface has a simple message to voters: “I’m here to take out the trash.” (In the U.K., a trash can is called a bin, though, so his name might go over some Americans’ heads.)
A mainstay of British politics, Binface has been on the ballot in several elections over the past few years.
The man behind the trash can is satirist Jonathan Harvey, and Binface continues a long tradition of quirky political candidates in U.K. elections. After all, a musician named Screaming Lord Sutch, founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, holds the record for running in the most parliamentary elections: 39 votes spanning from the 1960s to the ’90s.
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First, adopting the garb of a prior novelty candidate, Binface ran as Lord Buckethead against then-U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May. Then, he adopted the moniker of Count Binface, competing against the likes of Boris Johnson and, most recently, current U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
He, of course, lost all those races, and received very few votes. This is the first time he crossed the 5% threshold that earns him back his 500-pound (about $677) deposit to run.
Following his defeat, Binface will not be able to implement his sweeping and, some might say, radical electoral agenda, which included nationalizing Adele, cutting your taxes while raising everyone else’s and building “at least one affordable house.”
The election featured a record 34 candidates, which created a comically long paper ballot, with the Reform U.K. Party’s Farage taking about 63% of the votes.
But still, there was a marked difference in Binface’s candidacy this time, where he won 9,455 votes, or about 27%. He secured just 95 votes in his challenge to Burnham.
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Thursday’s election itself was a bit of a farce though so maybe the satirical candidate was the perfect foil for Farage. An ally of President Trump who has led a surging far-right, populist movement in the U.K., Farage resigned in early July as a lawmaker to trigger the special election.
“I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,” Farage said when he announced his resignation.
“This will be a people versus the establishment by-election,” he said, calling it “a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment to frankly tell them where to go.”
The move was thought at the time to be a high-risk political gamble to renew his mandate from voters as he faced mounting pressure over a scandal connected to failing to disclose financial gifts. But Binface’s candidacy became more viable when every legitimate party boycotted the election.
Farage’s reelection now makes him a serious threat to Burnham in the next national elections. Those elections must be called by August 2029, but a prime minister can also call for them at any time before then. Most recently, Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned after he lost the support of many within his party, and fellow Labour Party member Burnham was chosen to replace him.
Of course, a surging Count Binface would also be a natural to run in 2029 as well.