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[–]isrlygood 2505 points2506 points  (77 children)

Honestly, it can’t be good to be a voter in Clacton. One of the candidates is a caricature intentionally removed from the reality of modern Britain, and the other frontrunner is Count Binface.

[–]Continuum_Gaming 940 points941 points  (26 children)

I have seen this joke so many times about this election, but I still audibly chuckle every time.

[–]SuzLouA 756 points757 points  (22 children)

The best version I’ve seen is one of the other potential candidates (basically Farage’s opposite number in Labour or whatever, one of the ones that should be running against him but isn’t) saying very sternly that politics is not to be taken lightly and that to have a joke candidate running makes a mockery of the whole thing, and then ending in the same serious tone by saying, “…and that’s why I’ll be supporting Count Binface.”

[–]-wormgirlfriend- 381 points382 points  (12 children)

the minister who formally accepted his resignation said "if Nigel Farage wants to spend his summer arguing with a bin I won't stand in his way"

[–]FeijoaCowboy 67 points68 points  (11 children)

Fun fact: That was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and she technically didn't take Nigel's resignation; she actually made him the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. MPs aren't allowed to resign by Commons rules dating back to 1624, so MPs are just given an "Office of profit" under the Crown, which they're not allowed to have while in Parliament, so they get booted from their Commons seat.

Northstead is one of the two offices Parliament set aside for MPs to resign in 1975, the other being the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough, and Burnham (which is what the MP who resigned for Andy Burnham received). The Manor of Northstead doesn't even exist anymore; it's now a pond in a park in Scarborough.

[–]AntsAreGreat 14 points15 points  (2 children)

UK politics is so fucking whimsical(derogatory)

[–]flightguy07I put skulls over the boobs, so it's classy 117 points118 points  (6 children)

That would be Kier Starmer, the bloke who was our PM until a couple days ago

[–]Special_Order-937 54 points55 points  (1 child)

Well, still is PM technically for now!

[–]flightguy07I put skulls over the boobs, so it's classy 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Fair, he's got tomorrow.

[–]tropicalphysics 41 points42 points  (1 child)

It was Ed Davey of the Lib Dems who said that in Parliament. Keir Starmer of Labour, on the other hand, simply said to “put your vote in the bin.”

[–]RealRaven6229 89 points90 points  (0 children)

It's one of those jokes that's literally always funny to me. Like Shinji Chair.

[–]something_python 29 points30 points  (0 children)

See it coming every time. Still funny.

[–]Imalsome 275 points276 points  (18 children)

I mean count binface is a well known and well informed political comedian, so its not like he is a "bad canididate"

All the memes aside John will absolutely be better than Nigel.

[–]CRowlands1989 483 points484 points  (15 children)

Some of Binface's previous policies have included:

  • Giving free broadband to everyone. (Fun fact: The UN has stated that the internet is crucial for enjoying human rights.)
  • Abolishing the House of Lords.
  • Stopping the sale of arms to oppressive regimes.

And some less serious, but clearly linked to an understanding of serious issues and being on the right side of them:

  • Tying government minister's pay to that of nurses.
  • Sending 1 Trillion pounds a week to the NHS.
  • Holding a referendum on whether or not we should hold a referendum on Brexit.
  • Forcing Thames Water managers to swim in the Thames and see how they like the pollution levels.
  • Build at least One affordable house.

And, of course, his greatest political feat: He's not Nigel Farage.

[–]TheHeroHartmut 181 points182 points  (6 children)

Don't forget about capping 99s at 99p, and nationalising Adele.

[–]Bobboy5like 7 bubble 117 points118 points  (5 children)

also renaming London Bridge to Phoebe Waller-Bridge

[–]Bhrutus 144 points145 points  (4 children)

And, most importantly, moving the hand dryer in the gent’s toilet in that one pub to a more reasonable location

[–]Unit_2097 88 points89 points  (1 child)

In fairness, have you seen the photo of that hand drier? It's ridiculous, right next to the urinal. Like to dry your hands you have to be brushing shoulders with someone using the facilities.

[–]Gaelic_Gladiator41 27 points28 points  (0 children)

The problem is, it's not a sensible bathroom

[–]NastypilotGoing "he just like me fr, fr" at any mildly autistic character. 56 points57 points  (0 children)

The Crown and Treaty pub and Count Binface actually signed a treaty that the dryer gets moved if he wins.

[–]techno156 106 points107 points  (3 children)

Build at least One affordable house.

It's also nice that he has a clear, achievable, actionable goal. It's hard to fail at building at least one affordable house.

[–]Shift642 45 points46 points  (2 children)

AND YET

[–]_SilentHunter 22 points23 points  (1 child)

Most politicians are very talented at very hard things. The very hard things just happen to mostly involve failing to do the literal bare minimum that's so easy to accomplish you could accidentally your way into it.

[–]colei_canis 19 points20 points  (2 children)

Bringing back Ceefax too!

What the esteemed Count may not have realised is that Ceefax lived in the vertical blanking interval of an analogue TV channel. This implies he’s going to not just reinstate Ceefax but the analogue TV infrastructure as a whole. Since the UHF wavebands for this are now used for 4G and 5G instead, we’re all going to get much less addicted to our phones. Good policy!

[–]LazyDro1d 14 points15 points  (0 children)

no, prime ministers pay to nurses is good i like that one

[–]VFiddly 57 points58 points  (0 children)

He'll probably actually visit Clacton from time to time if he wins

[–]u_touch_my_tra_la_la 33 points34 points  (0 children)

To be fair, a freshly puked tikka masala spread all over Blackpool's crusty pier would be better for England than Farage.

[–]Hi2248Cheese, gender, what the fuck's next? 142 points143 points  (20 children)

It should be worth noting is that the point of (mostly) only joke candidates running in this election is to prevent Farage from claiming that he still has the mandate of the people, to get around the corruption charges.

It truly doesn't matter if he wins or loses here. 

[–]smellsliketeenferret 105 points106 points  (15 children)

It truly doesn't matter if he wins or loses here.

Even if he wins, if Binface takes a large chunk of the vote then that would also send a clear message about how the people of Clacton view his resign/stand-again stunt. If he loses then that's effectively him done, politically speaking, and would have broader implications for Reform as a party

[–]Dupeskupes 62 points63 points  (6 children)

also if he wins, the investigation goes ahead

[–]smellsliketeenferret 48 points49 points  (2 children)

The investigation could still go ahead if he loses, although it would be down to the ethics committee to decide if that would be the case

[–]Hi2248Cheese, gender, what the fuck's next? 31 points32 points  (1 child)

Losing would also open him up to all the criminal investigations he's currently been avoiding. But so would winning and the current investigation finding him in violation 

[–]bug--bearbe gary do crime 20 points21 points  (0 children)

yeah it was a shit plan, but then Farage is an idiot so what did anyone expect

[–]DroneOfDoomTheon the Reader *dolphin slur noises* 43 points44 points  (2 children)

I've seen estimates that Farage basically needs to win like he's running unopposed in order to not completely implode politically, and if Binface or the other joke candidates take even 5% of the votes, he's done for.

[–]Hatsune_Miku_CMdownfall of neoliberalism. crow racism. much to rhink about 24 points25 points  (1 child)

I mean that's just not gonna happen. way to many people hate reform.

even in a landslide with low voter turnout outside of reform, farage is not getting more then 80% of the vote. realistically not more then 70%.

[–]Traroten 16 points17 points  (1 child)

I would not be sorry if Reform went the way of the dodo.

[–]Rosti_LFC 10 points11 points  (1 child)

I also don't think it's being talked about enough that at this point Laurence Fox is almost certainly going to gain fewer votes than Count Binface will, therefore completely embarrassing himself in an election when he had no real need to throw his hat in the ring to begin with.

And in a way it's funny that people aren't really talking about it, because the only reason Fox could reasonably have had for standing would be to gain media attention and he's not even getting that.

[–]Organic_Mechanic_702 14 points15 points  (0 children)

However it pans out, even if he wins, Farage looks a fool.

[–]Hamster-Food 8 points9 points  (2 children)

It does matter. There's no real winning outcome for Farage, but if he loses to a bin his political career is over.

[–]GhostOfMuttonPast 41 points42 points  (1 child)

And theres a secret third option, the mega racists who had their only MP get suspended for describing the Covid vaccine as "the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust."

Very reasonable choices.

[–]Thromnomnomok 57 points58 points  (0 children)

I can't believe a bunch of mega racists would describe the COVID vaccine as the worst thing since the holocaust. Not because I doubt that they hate the vaccine, but because they don't usually think the holocaust was that bad.

[–]SerFlounce-A-Lot 28 points29 points  (2 children)

Honestly, Clacton could do worse! I had a look through Count Binface's website when I learned about him a couple weeks ago, and his political platform is pretty solid. While he's (rightfully and successfully, I should note) shining a light on some of the bullshittery in current UK politics, he's doing it because he actually cares and wants better for the UK. Considering Count Binface is the (not secret!) alter ego of comedian and writer Jonathan David Harvey, it's very much satire that comes from a real place.

Which is why it's so funny when interviewers underestimate Count Binface and smugly ask him a political question, only to receive a thoughtful and witty AND TOPICAL response. Chef's kiss every time.

Count Binface reminds me a bit of Chuck Tingle, actually? In that they're both 'characters' who wear weird stuff over their head (a pink pillowcase, in Tingle's case) and are satirical experts in their own fields (UK politics and contemporary literature, respectively). And because of their personas, they're consistently dismissed and underestimated by people who misread their comedy as disinterest or disrespect.

[–]Jakitron_1999TIRM 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Don't vote for the trash, vote for the bin

[–]Rocketboy1313 1753 points1754 points  (34 children)

That interview panel has an absolute banger Binface insight.

They are pressing him to unmask and he basically asks why they were demanding he do that instead of interrogating the "serious" candidate, "this used to be a place of serious journalism and now it is a glorified podcast."

[–]_pankates_ 662 points663 points  (30 children)

He does bang out the one liners and he's good at righteous indignation. It's a stupid request anyway - it's not a secret who's in the bin, so what do they think they're trying to achieve?

[–]TheMarslMcFly 278 points279 points  (29 children)

IT'S NOT?! I thought Count Binface is like the Banksy of british politics

[–]Hungry-Western9191 540 points541 points  (21 children)

He is Johnathan Harvey, a reasonably well known comedian and scriptwriter. He is from London.

[–]MrCookie2099 245 points246 points  (17 children)

Is Banksy also Johnathan Harvey, well known comedian and scriptwriter from London?

[–]Practical-Water-9209 161 points162 points  (5 children)

Yes, he is! He is also deadmau5

[–]hivEM1nd_ 100 points101 points  (4 children)

He is also both members of Daft Punk

[–]colei_canis 29 points30 points  (2 children)

All the members of Sleep Token too for that matter.

[–]Bobboy5like 7 bubble 35 points36 points  (8 children)

actually I'm banksy

[–]religion-lost 24 points25 points  (5 children)

Omg hi I love your work

[–]Weird-Specific-2905 25 points26 points  (4 children)

I am Banksy, and so is my wife.

[–]CapitalDD69 14 points15 points  (2 children)

IS there anyone who's NOT Banksy around here??

[–]LordCoweater 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Or so they SAY!!!

[–]Organic_Mechanic_702 17 points18 points  (0 children)

As he has worked on 'The thick of it' and 'Have I got news for you'..you can be assured he's pretty politically astute....Don't fancy Farage's chances in a debate...

[–]ashleystrangeIs zero odd or even? 92 points93 points  (5 children)

To be perfectly serious, we do ''know'' who banksy is too. There was a Reuters Investigation with a lot of credible evidence unearthed such that it's all but definite that we know who banksy is.... but it can only really be legitimised by banksy himself by willingly coming out as banksy.

[–]magicaltrevor953 117 points118 points  (1 child)

coming out as banksy

"Mum, dad, I have something important to tell you. I think I like spray paint."

[–]ashleystrangeIs zero odd or even? 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I know, hilarious wording, but I couldn't think of a better turn of phrase.

[–]Special_Order-937 24 points25 points  (2 children)

I’m quite sure the government, security services and tax department know who Banksy is as well, so everyone who needs to know is in the know.

[–]ashleystrangeIs zero odd or even? 34 points35 points  (1 child)

Yeah, and some people in the auction houses probably also know his identity too. It's just more lucrative for everyone involved to keep up the mystique.

[–]Vincent_VanAdultman 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah it'd be difficult to set up the whole Dismaland theme park experience, hiring vendors etc whilst being anonymous. Do masked supervillains have this problem? Can you look up employee ratings before getting hired as a Joker henchperson?

[–]Mikey_Grapeleaves 136 points137 points  (0 children)

The more you interact with me, the more you prove my point type shi

[–]Hungry-Western9191 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Its not like his identity is an actual secret. 

[–]ldkagooduser 9 points10 points  (0 children)

also there unmask point is moot cause binface doesnt hide his actual identity if im right its like demanding a mascot unmask

[–]ghost-church 389 points390 points  (41 children)

Is he a good candidate? I don’t care what planet hes from

[–]Nexinex782951 865 points866 points  (19 children)

he promises to build at least one affordable house

[–]PowrOfFriendship_Responsible for 80% of God murders. 704 points705 points  (7 children)

Other items on his previous manifestos include:

Forcing the managers at Thames Water to take a dip in the Thames (huge history of them leaking sewage runoff into the Thames)

Tying government wages to that of NHS nurses (based)

Making Piers Morgan zero emissions (god, please)

and banishing Katie Hopkins to the Phantom Zone.

[–]SmoreOfBabylon 301 points302 points  (3 children)

Also: individuals who use speakerphone whilst on public transport will be conscripted.

[–]CRowlands1989 203 points204 points  (1 child)

No, no, they will be forced to watch the live action Cats movie every day for a year.

Former Prime Ministers are who he'd have conscripted.

[–]Intelligent_Slip_849 39 points40 points  (0 children)

That one's honestly probably enough to make him Prime Minister if he wanted

[–]Practical_Chemtrail 248 points249 points  (2 children)

are we forgetting the issue of national importance, namely:

The hand-dryer in the gents' toilet at the Crown & Treaty pub,
Uxbridge to be moved to a more sensible position.

[–]PowrOfFriendship_Responsible for 80% of God murders. 95 points96 points  (1 child)

I assumed that one was a given. I imagine something that important is in everyone's manifesto, so it didn't feel worth mentioning for Binface specifically.

[–]Special_Order-937 67 points68 points  (0 children)

I’ve seen pictures, he has a point that it’s shocking placement and needs to be dealt with.

[–]YogurtProductions 257 points258 points  (8 children)

And nationalise Adele

[–]StarStriker51 128 points129 points  (3 children)

and be in office during the death of a political commentator (whose name I am unironically forgetting) within 50 years. The commentator is in his 60s. It's technically achievable

[–]DomkeyBong 57 points58 points  (2 children)

Is it Piers Morgan?

[–]StarStriker51 39 points40 points  (1 child)

looked it up, yeah lol

[–]WillSym 25 points26 points  (3 children)

See, I get all his policy gags, little silly local stuff like the dryer and the kebabs, but the celebrity name-drop ones don't really land with me, I understand the Phoebe Waller-Bridge one because bridge, but I always felt I was missing something with the 'Nationalise Adele' one.

Is it a riff or a pun on something else that was being debated about nationalising? Just proud of a homegrown singer? Has she made any comment on it? What would it even mean?

[–]Orizifian-creatorshe/her/hers zhe/zer/zheirs they/them/theirs Padria Zozzria Oriz 46 points47 points  (0 children)

She's a National Treasure is what I heard

[–]fang_xianfu 39 points40 points  (0 children)

It's just a play on the current renationalisation trend - British Steel, the railways, and energy are all coming back under more national control. Why Adele, just because she's a household name, I think.

[–]bayleysgal1996 157 points158 points  (2 children)

From what I’ve seen, he’d be better than Farage or Fox. Though that’s less on his policy and more on theirs

[–]CRowlands1989 133 points134 points  (1 child)

Some of his policy is good. A lot of jokes show an understanding of important issues.

Claiming he'll build at least one affordable house, sending 1 trillion pounds to the NHS every week, or forcing Thames Water managers to swim in the rivers they polluted with sewage, while obviously silly, show he does recognise things that need changing.

[–]insomniac7809 34 points35 points  (0 children)

And the relocation of the hand dryer in the gent's toilet at the Crown and Treaty pub is just sound policy 

[–]bemused_alligators 98 points99 points  (2 children)

Hell fix the poorly placed hand dryer at the pub

[–]-wormgirlfriend- 20 points21 points  (1 child)

which is not even in Clacton, but I'm still on board

[–]StinkyBingus16 101 points102 points  (2 children)

Genuinely, yes.

It’s not so much that he’s a great politician and more that the other two people running are world class bastards.

Fox is a failed actor, musician, comedian and Ex Husband of Billie Piper. He’s just a racist groveller who thinks he’s owed everything because he’s not good enough.

Farage is MUCH more sinister. He’s mini Trump, essentially. He self styles as a man of the people while sucking up to all the AI, crypto, alt right grifters of the world (weirdly, including Lawrence Fox in the past) he’s the factory for fringe right wing parties and media in the UK. He’s also said some nasty things for £90 on Cameo, including mourning the death of a convicted pedophile & supporting an Irish paramilitary force, so what would he say for 5 million?

[–]MyPinEquals7744 38 points39 points  (1 child)

73 pounds for chanting up the IRA.

I think that's worse than the 5 million donation he received.

[–]Waity5 52 points53 points  (3 children)

He plans to force all cyclists who break the highway code to ride on unicycles, which personally I'm against. Why make that cyclist-specific and not for all vehicles governed by the highway code?

[–]Cheshire-Cad 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Given the significant differences between cars and bikes, it does feel sensible for there to be a nuanced difference between enforcement.

Bicyclists have to ride a unicycle.
Motorists have to drive a Reliant Robin.

[–]goldengamer2345 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Pretty much all of his actual listed policies are joke ones, but knowing his background under the mask, and listening to him in interviews, even just actually reading his policies, he clearly actually knows what he’s talking about.
Imo, unironically yes

[–]DoctorSquidton.tumblr.com 35 points36 points  (0 children)

He promises to cut your taxes, and raise everyone else’s

[–]turtlepidgeonI want it on record that I shit mostly normal 33 points34 points  (1 child)

He will rename Tower Bridge to Phoebe Waller-Bridge

[–]practicalcabinet 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Well, he's got one of the lowest attendance records at Parliament (other than Sinn Fein, who get elected to boycott it), he hardly ever has contact with his constituents (who complained about it), and now there's this questionable £5M scandal.

Oh, sorry, I was talking about Farage.

[–]Itsyaboibrett 318 points319 points  (11 children)

it’s incredible. for those who haven’t seen it, there’s some fantastic interviews. he has policies like “build at least one affordable house” and move the hand dryer in his local pub to a “more sensible location.” I love it so much. it’s making a mockery of farage in a way that he deserves so fully

[–]ohdoyoucomeonthen 177 points178 points  (9 children)

Okay but the hand dryer’s location really is NOT sensible.

[–]Beardywierdy 89 points90 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I saw a picture of it the other day and it really is fucking ludicrous.

[–]eydirctiviyg 76 points77 points  (5 children)

Picture for context

[–]Inevitable_record 53 points54 points  (2 children)

Holy shit, I thought it was a joke. That really is bad!

[–]Zekava 39 points40 points  (0 children)

According to other posters on that thread, it's not even up to code, so it's an entirely realistic goal to get it moved

[–]Plane_Suggestion_189 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It’s so egregious it’s become a national spat.

[–]Itsyaboibrett 35 points36 points  (0 children)

oh I’m on board. if I lived in Clacton I’d vote twice like the American I am

[–]Devils_Advocate6_6_6 20 points21 points  (0 children)

My favourite part was when told he wouldn't be able to wear his bin face due to parliamentary face covering rules, he responded that you also aren't allowed to take bribes, so clearly there's some leeway to the rules

[–]Questionably_Chungly 208 points209 points  (0 children)

Somehow the guy with a bin on his head is the least insane candidate, which says a lot about things

[–]Satorwave 781 points782 points  (63 children)

He's also the #1 candidate according to polls

[–]Digit00l 561 points562 points  (1 child)

Considering he is the least insane candidate, good

[–]Gentle_Snail 178 points179 points  (0 children)

He’s also the ethical candidate because Farage is just doing this to discredit the later Recall Election and subvert the democratic process. 

In the UK if politicians break rules they can be forced out by Recall Elections - this is why none of the major parties are contesting this, because they all know there will be a second election when the investigation ends.

So this election is Farage trying to discredit the later Recall Election, thus making Count Binface making a mockery of it not just moral, but pro democracy.

[–]Conciouswaffle 152 points153 points  (46 children)

No way, seriously?

[–]jaehaerys48 232 points233 points  (4 children)

Not really, unless there is a new poll I don't know about. He was leading Farage in a national poll, but the election is only in Clacton. Clacton is a very conservative constituency, which is why Farage won it in 2024. I can't see him not winning it again.

[–]Rafnir_Fann 115 points116 points  (3 children)

There will likely be some internal polling from Reform (since they're awash with lots of clean, honest crypto money) and the odds of Farage have shortened a fair amount in the past week, ie the bookmakers think he's more likely to win it than a week ago.

Clacton have the opportunity to deliver an almighty kick up the arse to the far right and do the funniest thing ever in British politics but it's just not that sort of constituency. It's got more than a decent amount of sour, hateful Little Englanders. Happily though Farage won't be able to celebrate beating a man with a bin on his head too much.

[–]jaehaerys48 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Little Englanders is correct. Tories used to win Clacton by huge margins before Reform became a thing.

[–]VFiddly 27 points28 points  (1 child)

And it's already being made clear that the corruption investigations will continue if he wins, making this whole charade pointless.

[–]CapitalDD69 16 points17 points  (0 children)

making this whole charade pointless.

My fear is Farage will be able to claim that the people of Clacton "consider the matter closed", and all the new outlets will report it over, and over, and over again until it becomes true.

[–]PowrOfFriendship_Responsible for 80% of God murders. 388 points389 points  (37 children)

Yup. We have a load of parties in the UK and while Farage did win last time he only won with like 35% of the vote because a half dozen other parties all split the remaining 65%. Because none of those half dozen parties are fielding candidates this time, it's the 35% who wanted Farage voting for Farage vs the 65% who don't want him who are genuinely considering voting Binface just because he's not Farage. So it's basically just down to how many of that 65% choose to vote Binface vs just not voting at all.

Laurence Fox is also there, but he's also a far right nutjob so, if anything, is splitting Farage's 35% and not encroaching on Binface's potential 65% at all.

[–]Tree_Shrapnel 248 points249 points  (29 children)

please let this happen it would be so fucking funny

[–]Danson_the_47th 170 points171 points  (20 children)

If a comedian/actor can win the presidency of UA and a clown can win the presidency of the US, why can’t a Bin win a MP of the UK?

[–]BalefulOfMonkeysREAL YURI, done by REAL YURITICIANS 122 points123 points  (2 children)

According to all known laws of political science, a bin shouldn’t be able to win. The bin, of course,

[–]MrCookie2099 13 points14 points  (1 child)

There's no rule a bin can't play basketball.

[–]Practical_Chemtrail 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Or run for politics.

Give the Bin a Win

[–]GamermanZendrelax 38 points39 points  (1 child)

Of course, the difference between Binface and Zelensky is that Binface remains a comedian who satirizes politics, while Zelensky made a career change to become a politician.

Whereas your third example is a corrupt narcissist exploiting deep-rooted flaws in the US political system for personal gain.

[–]Connect_Rhubarb395 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Zelensky also already had a law degree, which is a very solid background for a politician.

[–]theinadequategatsby 53 points54 points  (7 children)

I will add - Binface winning, whilst hilarious, would be the bad outcome.

Count Binface (my belovèd) holds a mirror to the absurd circus of UK politics. He is a very good and astute comedian, but is not a politician, and it would ruin the bit.

Fashy Nige is trying to prove he has a mandate from the people and instead has to spend the summer arguing with a bin. He'll win, but the win will be hollow because well...he was up against a bin (the attack line of the bin being the establishment is not landing). Then the enquiry into his crypto money will restart and he'll be out on his arse anyway, with the added ignominity of his shit legacy being exemplified with a picture of him on stage next to a man with a bin on his head.

This will cost us taxpayers around £350k but hey. We are in a very stupid timeline.

[–]Magmafrost13 70 points71 points  (2 children)

Binface has been doing this for so long that it feels inevitable to me that he'll win an election at some point, surely at some point he developed a contingency plan

[–]SuzLouA 65 points66 points  (0 children)

I think if Binface wins he’ll just hang on til the next general, his whole thing is that he’s protesting this being a waste of taxpayer money. It’s visibly not that hard to be MP for Clacton because Farage has been doing it for years.

[–]theinadequategatsby 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Well, he could step down and trigger a by-election calling it "a Clacton tradition that Sigma 9 will celebrate yearly" I guess??

[–]Opening-Ant3477 51 points52 points  (1 child)

So explain to me again why that would be a bad outcome?

Surely losing to a bin would be an even greater embarrassment. And Sir Bin can hardly do a worse job than Farage.

Sure, the UK might lose a funny joke, but I recon it's about time to come up with a new bit anyways.

[–]AdFancy6243 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Exactly, Count Binface is a joke but beating Nigel Farage is the punchline

[–]OneVioletRose 17 points18 points  (0 children)

“the attack line of the bin being the establishment is not landing” sent me into orbit; I can’t even imagine what it must be like to follow politics from within the UK right now

[–]Space_Socialist 88 points89 points  (0 children)

As much as it would be funny if Binface won it's unlikely. Your wrong about the vote btw. Farage won 46.2% of the vote not 30% and the second place was the Conservatives with 27.9%. Assuming everyone who didn't vote for Farage voted for Binface then Binface would win. Realistically though a large portion of the conservative vote would move to Farage as a lot of these people would agree with Reform but have stayed with the conservatives due to a familiarity with the Tories.

Clacton is a extremely conservative seat so it's not surprising that Farage would win. Despite this it's likely going to be a political loss for Farage as if Binface wins a decent number of votes it impacts Farage's political prestige.

[–]JustKingKay 77 points78 points  (2 children)

That is staggeringly wrong. Not one part of that is right.

Clacton is a historically far-right seat, voted massively for Brexit and was the only seat Farage’s former party, UKIP, ever won back in 2015. In 2019 it was 70% Conservative Party, but due to a raft of scandals and long-term dissatisfaction with the Tories, he was able to split the vote away from them and win with 46% of the vote. Conservatives then got 28%, with a left\centre rump of 24%.

The real question is whether the Tory voters who went to Farage are still happy enough with him to back him in this notably petulant bit of political theatre, and whether the Tories who didn’t vote for him last time are motivated enough to do the funniest thing ever and get behind Binface.

[–]Satorwave 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Yes he could actually win

[–]rindlesswatermelon 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Its a national poll for a byelection that is limited to just the people of Clacton. Farage is still very much the favourite.

[–]BaconBand1t 65 points66 points  (3 children)

I do think this is a situation where polls aren't very reliable. It's very funny to say you'll vote for binface, but it's another thing to actually vote that way. However this would definitely be one of the best political moments in history if these polls are accurate

[–]hpisbi 31 points32 points  (0 children)

It’s a national poll for a Clacton by election. Most of the respondents can’t vote. This makes them more likely to give a joke answer and isn’t representative of the extremely conservative Clacton.

[–]Confused_Rock 30 points31 points  (3 children)

We have the potential to change course to the best timeline

[–]Satorwave 57 points58 points  (2 children)

Why? Because we can. We trash can.

[–]The_Ghast_Hunter 18 points19 points  (1 child)

As an urbanmech pilot would say: "it's a trash CAN, not a trash CAN'T"

[–]dandantian5 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Binface leads in nationwide polls of the broader British public, but the election itself is a local parliamentary election for Clacton, which is significantly more conservative than the rest of the country -- in 2024, Reform received 14% of the vote nationally, but 46% in Clacton. To my knowledge, there have not yet been any polls of Clacton residents specifically, but Farage is still expected to win.

[–]musschrott 15 points16 points  (1 child)

 The funny thing is that Count Binface isn't the most ridiculous person who is even in the race, not by a long shot. There's someone who founded a conservation org and likes to dress up as a fox (obvious cover story for a furry), the brother of former Labour Leader (and leftist Hardliner) Corbyn, a student who put his work as a janitorial staff as part of his resume, and finally a literal nut job, who claims to be clairvoyant, used to be a member of Farage's party, and says she wants to be the candidate for those who don't vote.

But yeah, Farage is the anti-establishment candidate, for sure. 

[–]Pippin4242 24 points25 points  (0 children)

The fox dropped out, he said he'd made some headlines about protecting British wildlife and that's all he wanted to do. Seems like a really nice guy.

[–]Dingghis_KhaanChinggis Khaan's least successful successor. 268 points269 points  (9 children)

For us Americans: he's the UK's Vermin Supreme

[–]StapesSSBM 173 points174 points  (3 children)

(For the Brits: this is the US' Count Binface)

[–]Delta_Hammer 136 points137 points  (1 child)

For everyone wondering: that is not a rickroll. Vermin Supreme has been hanging around, wearing a boot on his head and making other candidates uncomfortable for many years now.

[–]cascasrevolution 46 points47 points  (0 children)

love vermin supreme

[–]PigeonOnTheGate 45 points46 points  (0 children)

That's an old video. This is his latest run

https://youtu.be/eQKl02hsJFA

[–]NotABrummie 27 points28 points  (0 children)

No, the UK's Vermin Supreme is Howling Laud Hope (and used to be Screaming Lord Such). Count Binface is a whole new entity.

[–]ShiftyFly 70 points71 points  (3 children)

what's funny is that Nigel resigned before the results of the investigation abt the £5m gift have been published, so if he's found guilty he might have to resign again (which is why the other parties aren't participating)

[–]AardvarkNo2514 52 points53 points  (2 children)

The idea was that if he won convincingly he could say the people trust him over "the establishment", and avoid a second by-election (somehow). But since the only recognizable candidates are him and Count Binface, unless he gets like 90% of the votes it's going to damage his reputation even within his party

[–]Hi2248Cheese, gender, what the fuck's next? 41 points42 points  (1 child)

Even if he gets 90% of the votes, it will still prevent him from using that excuse. "The people have given me their mandate," He'll say, and all he'll get in response is, "Yeah, over a bin."

[–]Ze_Bri-0n 123 points124 points  (15 children)

But will Count Binface be allowed to wear a different, somewhat smaller, bin upon his face in the parliament chamber? Surely the issue is not that he is not in a suit, but is in costume sufficiently large and unwieldy as to be an impediment, right?

[–]BillybobThistleton 125 points126 points  (2 children)

In all seriousness, it’s probably a matter of making sure he can’t be impersonated. It’s an unlikely scenario, but if there’s a close vote they don’t want some bad actor putting on a bin and bluffing their way in to tip the balance. 

[–]Brainwave1010 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Which is exactly what happened when he was still Lord Buckethead.

Copyright holder for the original outfit (from an ages old low budget Star Wars ripoff) flexed his rights and used the opportunity to make a nega-buckethead who stood for his right wing politics.

Didn't last very long obviously, but Binface took the opportunity to distance himself from it anyways due to a previous promise of abolishing lordship.

[–]VFiddly 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I wonder if he could wear a bin that leaves his face visible

[–]Eldritch-Yodel 72 points73 points  (2 children)

Unfortunately it's just a case of there being rules against special outfits in parliament in general. You really are required to just rock up in a suit. Him wearing a baseball cap with a picture of a bin on it even would prolly break dress code.

[–]WillSym 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I hope he can get away with just a cape. Regular guy, the man under the bin, doing the serious job now he's won the joke bid, but rocking a big luxurious cape with his dresscode-appropriate suit.

Maybe start a new fashion trend in Westminster.

[–]Ze_Bri-0n 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Ah. Shame.

[–]turtlepidgeonI want it on record that I shit mostly normal 47 points48 points  (4 children)

Among other things he currently runs afoul of the Coming Armed to Parliament Act of 1313 as his suit is armored, so there are several issues

[–]Torus_the_Toric 15 points16 points  (2 children)

Does a bin count as armour?

[–]_MargaretThatcherThe Once & Future Prime Minister of Darkness 48 points49 points  (0 children)

He is wearing authentic Recyclon battle armor straight from Sigma IX.

[–]Pippin4242 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Regrettably it's visibly functional sports armour that's been painted

[–]king_john651 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Whilst I don't know about the UK but generally Westminster parliaments tend to do their rules on convention rather than a specific list of dos and donts. It's up to the speaker of the house to not be a partisan fuckwit when maintaining order based on conventions (in my country there's a thing about no hats but there's only a few geriatrics in Parliament and none of them feel strongly about indoor hats, and some of them only feel strongly about the hat wearer themselve(s)).

Given Count Binface is practically accepted by the public as he is, and is a self titled count, it would be pretty damn hard for a standing order to be made for him to de-bin or face being suspended from parliament. But it doesn't matter because the fucking morons will just make Farage their electorate rep again

[–]Lessiarty 127 points128 points  (2 children)

larping as a bin from another planet

First of all, how dare you?

[–]ObnoxiousName_Here 33 points34 points  (1 child)

Actually the first accurate use I’ve seen of the phrase **”live action role play”** in years

[–]Lessiarty 19 points20 points  (0 children)

You better hope this kind of disparagement doesn't create tensions with the Recyclons!

[–]PigeonOnTheGate 104 points105 points  (15 children)

Wikipedia says this election has set the record for most candidates for a UK by-election. And that there is 34 candidates

[–]Top_Benefit_5594 133 points134 points  (9 children)

Correct, but the only ones who matter at the moment are Farage and Binface. All the other candidates are either nut jobs even further to the right than Farage or novelty acts no-one has heard of.

[–]cascasrevolution 97 points98 points  (0 children)

at least binface is a novelty act we've heard of!

[–]SnooBooks1701 37 points38 points  (2 children)

Or the Monster Raving Loonies, who have decided to stand three candidates in the election

[–]Top_Benefit_5594 25 points26 points  (1 child)

Yeah, to be fair, people have heard of them because they have a very long history but I left them out to keep things simpler. Very few people will vote for them over Binface or just not voting, in this case though.

[–]Plannercat 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Registering as a candidate isn't super expensive, and you get to stand on the stage with Binface and the comic relief guy when election day comes, so it's a perfect 15 minutes of fame.

[–]amateurgameboi 19 points20 points  (1 child)

Laurence fox also matters, not because he has any chance of winning, but because Reclaim UK is a significant enough party to split several percent of the vote away from Farage

[–]magicaltrevor953 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The fox is working with the bin it's just neither of them realise it yet.

[–]PowrOfFriendship_Responsible for 80% of God murders. 32 points33 points  (1 child)

Yeah, but 95% of them are single digit vote, nothing candidates. There's like 2 dozen Independents with no history, experience or presence in politics, standing just because, and about a half dozen far right nutters. Binface and Farage are (somehow) the only "real" candidates.

[–]Apex_Konchu 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Binface and Farage are (somehow) the only "real" candidates.

There's a reason for that. Farage triggered this election because he's neck-deep in crimes and scandals and he wants to prove that the public still supports him. But he can't prove anything if there's no serious opposition, so all of the other major parties have chosen not to participate.

[–]KikoValdeztumbler dot cum 15 points16 points  (0 children)

At the time of this post those three were the only declared ones iirc

[–]garfieldandfriends2 29 points30 points  (0 children)

British far right naming their parties: Reduce party, reuse party, recycle party

[–]CookiedDough 89 points90 points  (3 children)

Binface's entire campaign is basically shitposting and going "I'm not Nigel Farage". The funniest thing, is that it's goddamn working.

Like, given last election it was revealed if everyone who didn't vote for Farage all pooled behind one candidate Farage would 100% lose, it is entirely possible Binface wins this one.

[–]Rosti_LFC 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I think it's worth remembering that as a country we voted to call a multi-million pound research vessel Boaty McBoatface, and in the 2001 census, in an attempt to get it recognised as an official UK religion, so many people put their religion down as "Jedi" that it ended up ranking higher than Sikhism or Judaism.

As a nation we're far from averse to voting for a novelty option.

[–]ashleystrangeIs zero odd or even? 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I'm too pessimistic to hope that that would happen, considering that there are like 30 other candidates that all together might cut into count binface's theorized vote share maybe as a result of people that won't vote for either and so essentially vote as "undecided".

But also, Lawrence Fox. Let's hope against hope he runs a convincing enough campaign that actually takes away from Farage's vote share.

[–]NatashOverWorld 23 points24 points  (1 child)

This is bigotry against Binfaces! This law must be repealed so Binface can sit in Parliament the way nature and God intended!

[–]macci_a_vellian 21 points22 points  (2 children)

I love that every report I've seen is that no one else is running against Farage. The other dude doesn't even exist in this race, and I think the only thing more humiliating than losing to a man dressed as a space bin alien and promising to nationalise Adele, is not even rating a mention in that campaign.

[–]WillSym 28 points29 points  (1 child)

Thing is there's apparently 34 candidates, just all the others apart from Farage and Binface are variants of the same thing that don't deserve the attention because they're not playing with the joke.

They're either more-right-wing upstarts (like Fox) who think they can out-outrage the king of grift in his home turf, and haven't a chance;

Or they're other silly gag candidates that are immediately spoiling the joke because it's so much funnier if it's just a 1v1 of notorious political underminer and weasel vs novelty Darth Vader parody parody.

[–]OpeningHappy9692 22 points23 points  (3 children)

Meanwhile Farage was allowed to sit in the commons wearing a leather mask carved from the face of one of his victims. This is fucking bullshit.

[–]Evil_Midnight_Lurker 7 points8 points  (2 children)

...excuse me, what? 😳

[–]OpeningHappy9692 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I mean look at him. Have you seen his smile? It's horrifying.

[–]DuckLIT122000 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The disdain for lesser evil voting instantly leaves my body when Count Binface is involved

[–]neonge1674 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Comment i as a bookmark

[–]florplegorp 14 points15 points  (0 children)

due to a scandal where he received £5m that could have been laundered

and didn't declare it at all

[–]wobuffet17453 18 points19 points  (2 children)

The fact that Billie Piper's ex husband is the 3rd candidate and that's not even worth mentioning shows you how ridiculous this whole thing is.

[–]Boneary 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Billie Piper's ex husband isn't worth mentioning, though.

[–]Tales_Steel 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Count Binface vs Bin Cuntface

[–]EWL98 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Well yes, rightfully so he shouldn’t be allowed to wear his armour. It is explicitly forbidden under the 1313 Statuto sup' Arportam'to Armor or Statutum de Defensione portandi Arma - statute forbidding bearing or armour.

Even his lordship should abide by the rules of parliament.

[–]ThatMadMan68 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Is the moment Waldo?

[–]techno156 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's also worth pointing out that the candidate the good Count is running against proclaims Binface to be part of the establishment.

As opposed to Farage, who, apparently, is not part of the establishment, even whilst rubbing shoulders with the quite wealthy.

[–]hagamablabla 6 points7 points  (0 children)

To be fair to Parliament, the rule banning armor has been in place for centuries.

[–]IcyJury1679 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It sucks that we're in a period of rising right wing sentiment all over the english speaking world right now but interesting thing that has come from it is proof that right wing political parties are just as if not much more capable of blowing up their own chances of winning for the sake of personal gain and petty infighting as left wing parties ever have been.