In Britain, a comedy candidate plays political spoiler

For decades, they were the jokers in the electoral pack, an oddball lineup of jesters and opportunists in bizarre outfits who brought a dash of the surreal to British elections.In 1987, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was reelected to her north London constituency, she did so against a man with a bucket on his noggin. Thirty years later, Lord Buckethead was at it again, trying – and failing – to unseat the prime minister of the day, Theresa May.In 2015 meanwhile, a man in a large red Elmo costume ran against then-head-of-government David Cameron. Two years later, a giant fish finger won 300 votes in a Scottish constituency. Why We Wrote This The U.K. electoral system has long featured parody also-rans. But now, Britain’s foremost far-right leader could find himself upended by a man wearing a bin. And in June, when Andy Burnham triumphed in a by-election on his way to becoming prime minister just a month later, he was flanked in victory by a 6-foot furry fox and a man in superhero spandex.So far, so satirical. Nigel Farage, leader of Britain's populist right, risks losing his seat in the Aug. 13 by-election in the constituency of Clacton-on-Sea in southeastern England. But the joke is about to get serious. In an Aug. 13 by-election in the constituency of Clacton-on-Sea, southeastern England, Britain’s most influential – and divisive – politician of recent years faces a moment of truth. Nigel Farage, perennial leader of the populist right and erstwhile friend of U.S. President Donald Trump, risks losing his parliamentary seat. Not to a mainstream candidate, or a single-issue campaigner.But to Count Binface, a man with a towering garbage bin on his head.“This is where the joke gets serious because there is a possibility that Binface will win,” says Jon Tonge, a politics professor at Liverpool University. “I don’t think he will, but it can’t be discounted.”Britons love a wry joke at the expense of the establishment. But the battle with Binface also speaks to a mood of protest in British society today. “The country doesn’t rise up in the same revolutionary ways as Americans do,” says Erich McElroy, a U.K.-based American comedian and podcaster, “but it has these little protests to stick it to the Man.”The perils of brawling with a binProfessor Tonge puts the likelihood of an upset at around 30%. A recent national poll found one-third of Britons wanted the comedy character to win, against just one-fifth for Mr. Farage. But of course, only the roughly 78,000 living in Clacton actually get to vote.Even if Mr. Farage prevails, it may not prove triumphant for the man who won Clacton in 2024 with more than 46% of the vote. “The danger for Farage is that it’s a Pyrrhic victory because even if he wins, all he’s done is beaten a bin,” Professor Tonge adds. “Arguably the biggest British political figure of the 21st century looks like a fool because he is spending the summer debating with a bin.”There is added irony in that Mr. Farage has brought this upon himself. As the sitting member of Parliament for Clacton, he resigned his seat amid a mounting clamor over his finances and a parliamentary investigation.The plan was to seek a renewed mandate to show that he has strong public backing, regardless of funding questions. But it backfired when none of the mainstream parties put up candidates. Instead, his principal rival from a field of 33 is Binface (aka comedian Jon Harvey) whose absurd policies include nationalizing Adele and “building at least one affordable home.”The by-election has propelled Binface to national prominence – and a frenetic schedule. Aides said he had had hundreds of requests for interviews and that he would be unable to speak to the Monitor before we went to press.But in other public appearances, he has wittered gamely about his plans. “I might go [to Clacton], but the current incumbent seems to spend more time in Washington, D.C., so maybe I should go there,” he said on the BBC: a jibe at Mr. Farage’s trips to hobnob with Mr. Trump and his allies.He has refused to be drawn out on whether, if elected, he would remove his headgear, as Parliament requires. (Perhaps the institution could take a lesson from Colombia’s Congress, which allowed recently elected Luis Carlos Rúa to be sworn in July 20 while wearing the white elephant costume that he campaigned in.) The late Screaming Lord Sutch, seen here on March 11, 1992, was founder and longtime leader of Britain’s Official Monster Raving Loony Party. A pop star in the 1960s, Mr. Sutch campaigned under the slogan “Vote for insanity. You know it makes sense,” but was never elected to Parliament. Loonies and McBoatfacesThe anarchic trend in British politics dates back to the days of a man named Screaming Lord Sutch, who founded the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 1982 as a magnet for protest voters.Mr. Sutch has since been succeeded by Howling Laud Hope, and the party is a standard feature of British elections, though it never gets more than a few hundred votes. In Clacton, as well as Mr. Hope, the party is fielding Nick The Incredible Flying Brick and Baron von Thunderclap.Mr. McElroy, the American comedian, says he was initially perplexed at all the costumes and hats at election time.“The first time I saw the Loonies, I thought, ‘What on earth is this?’” he says. He notes that it’s easier for joke candidates in the U.K. than elsewhere because of the relatively low barrier to entry. It costs just £500 ($670) to register as a candidate in an election. “If you stump up the deposit, then you get on the stage.”“There is something very British about it,” Mr. McElroy adds.Four years ago, a newspaper bought a lettuce and wagered that it would last longer than the then-new prime minister, Liz Truss. It did.And when the public was asked in 2016 to vote for a new name for a polar research vessel, the popular – if sardonic – choice was “Boaty McBoatface.”It seems no one can resist a pun on this occasion, too.“For the people of Clacton, this is a great opportunity to recycle leadership,” quipped Mr. McElroy.And in his last parliamentary intervention before handing over to Mr. Burnham, outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer kept a straight face when offering his advice to the people of Clacton: “Put your vote in the bin.”