# In the British election, were there any silly parties? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 8, 2024, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893 "2024-07-08T10:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/1 "2024-07-08T10:08:27Z")
I don’t pay much attention to British politics, but I like the way that they have (had?) a tradition of making fun of themselves. There used to be parties with names like “Crazy raving loonies”, and candidates with long names about 10 words long, ending with “biscuit barrel”. Is this still a thing? (And should it be?) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/2 "2024-07-08T10:18:08Z")
I’m a casual follower of the politics of the UK, and I’m a big fan of [Count Binface](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Binface). He’s a party of one, and he’s run for various positions. He wears a black costume and a trash bin on his face (of course) and most importantly a cape. He looks silly, but he’s made some good points mixed in with the goofiness and I think it really shows that anyone can and should run for office, which seems much healthier than the US system. He also did better than Britain First (a bunch of far-right jerks as far as I know) for mayor of London, which has always pleased me. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/3 "2024-07-08T11:15:25Z")
Oh yes it’s still a thing. Particularly in seats with big politicians in them. [Rishi Sunak](https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/independent-candidate-niko-omilana-holds-an-l-behind-news-photo/2159973937?adppopup=true) was surrounded by comedy candidates. Jacob Rees Mog had Barmy Brunch (a man with a bean face): [Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2160672100) Key Starmer [shook hands with Elmo](https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/britains-labour-party-leader-keir-starmer-is-congratulated-news-photo/2159969070?adppopup=true) following his victory ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/4 "2024-07-08T11:18:23Z")
There is still the Monster Raving Loony Party > **[The Official Monster Raving Loony Party](https://www.loonyparty.com/)** > > Vote For Insanity ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/5 "2024-07-08T11:20:32Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Is this still a thing? > (And should it be?) God yes. If there’s one thing we can be proud of about British politics, it’s the general good heart in which elections are undertaken and delivered. Anyone can stand, the cycle is swift, people have the ability to laugh at themselves and the dominant party takes power within hours of the result. And everyone shakes hands and says nice things about each other. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/6 "2024-07-08T11:26:44Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > And everyone shakes hands and says nice things about each other. Mostly. Way back, I can recall at one count an exceedingly ungracious and expletive-laden speech from a National Front candidate, but granted, that was a rarity. By the end of a campaign, the various helpers (all unpaid, of course) can tend to feel they have as much or more in common with each other\* than they do with the voters “out there”. \*Maybe not all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/7 "2024-07-08T11:26:57Z")
So what’s the best performance by any of the joke candidates, historically? Have any ever actually won a seat? ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/8 "2024-07-08T11:30:10Z")
Jacob Rees Mogg IS a comedy candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/9 "2024-07-08T11:36:56Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > [Rishi Sunak](https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/independent-candidate-niko-omilana-holds-an-l-behind-news-photo/2159973937?adppopup=true) was surrounded by comedy candidates. Which one is Rishi? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/10 "2024-07-08T11:41:50Z")
Not sure, but he’s quite small so probably the one in the white suit. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/11 "2024-07-08T11:52:02Z")
A football team mascot ran for Mayor as a publicity stunt and won (and did a good job) > **[Stuart Drummond](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Drummond)** > > Stuart Drummond (born 29 November 1973) is a British politician, who was the first and only directly elected mayor of Hartlepool in North East England. He was first elected in 2002, under the guise of H'Angus the Monkey, the town's football club's mascot, and was re-elected in 2005 and 2009. He was the first elected mayor in Britain to win a third term. He stood down when his term ended in May 2013 after the councillors and people of Hartlepool voted to abolish the mayoral system on 15 N Drumm... ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/12 "2024-07-08T11:55:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So what’s the best performance by any of the joke candidates, historically? Have any ever actually won a seat? I don’t think any have won seats in Parliament, although many independents have won seats over the years running on single (and sometimes local-only) issues. On a small scale, there was the case of Hartlepool mascot H’Angus the Monkey winning three terms as Mayor. I believe all-day pub opening was one of his policies that was actually implemented. > **[H'Angus the Monkey ex-Hartlepool mayor Stuart Drummond relocating](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-58912941)** > > Stuart Drummond, the former football mascot who was elected three times, is moving Down Under. ETA: Ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/13 "2024-07-08T12:06:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So what’s the best performance by any of the joke candidates, historically? Have any ever actually won a seat? This is just too obvious to make a joke about so I shall refrain. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/14 "2024-07-08T12:11:43Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > There used to be parties with names like “Crazy raving loonies”, and candidates with long names about 10 words long, ending with “biscuit barrel”. > Is this still a thing? Did this happen in real life before it happened on [Monty Python’s Flying Circus](https://youtu.be/dVI5ZOT5QEM), or is it a case of life imitating art? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/15 "2024-07-08T12:15:44Z")
Ahh, so I gather that the silly candidates are individuals who only run\* in one district. They don’t organize a party on the national level? That makes it pretty harmless, and more fun, I suppose. \*(oops—“stand” in Brit-speak) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/16 "2024-07-08T12:19:14Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Jacob Rees Mog had Barmy Brunch (a man with a bean face) I had seen a picture of Mr Bunch in UK election coverage and I thought he was supposed to be Ben Grimm/The Thing. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/17 "2024-07-08T12:28:35Z")
Generally speaking yes, but the [Monster Raving Looney Part](https://www.loonyparty.com/0607/8810/our-results-for-the-2024-general-election/)y stood in over 20 constituencies this year. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/18 "2024-07-08T12:29:09Z")
> gather that the silly candidates are individuals who only run\* in one district. They don’t organize a party on the national level? If you click on the link above, you’ll see they have memberships and a “conference” just like a regular party. But yes, it looks like each candidate runs their own campaign and activities. They did manage to qualify for an official party election broadcast on the BBC for the Welsh Assembly elections some years ago, [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/t1bUIycOELw/hqdefault.jpg "Loony Party 'Election Broadcast' on Welsh TV") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1bUIycOELw) ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/19 "2024-07-09T01:14:05Z")
Bit of both. The musician Screaming Lord Sutch (not actually a lord, but he did do a fair amount of screaming) was a perennial election candidate from 1963 onwards, standing in constituencies where there was a high-profile candidate from one of the more established parties. He wore flamboyant clothes and a top hat and changed his name by deed poll so that he could appear on the ballot paper under his stage name. The Monty Python sketch dates from 1970. But life does imitate art. Since the Python sketch, at least one joke candidate has run under a name taken from that sketch, and another has run under the “Silly Party” brand, which also comes from the sketch. And in 1982 Sutch founded the Official Monster Raving Looney Party, which is still going. The party name does not come from the Python sketch but much of its spirit does. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893/20 "2024-07-09T01:17:21Z")
> [@UDS1](#): > > Since the Python sketch, at least one joke candidate has run under a name taken from that sketch, To be specific, Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F’tang-F’tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel received 223 votes in 1981. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-british-election-were-there-any-silly-parties/1003893.md?page=2)