So. If you are not following the Nigel Farage vs. Count Binface showdown in British politics then I recommend you start doing so.
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So. If you are not following the Nigel Farage vs. Count Binface showdown in British politics then I recommend you start doing so.
The short version: Nigel Farage, MP and leader of the far-right Reform Party, resigns from his seat to halt investigation into his dodgy finances. Then announces he will stand in the ensuing by-election, essentially because if he wins his (safe) seat again it proves the people don’t care about his finances.
As this is obviously a bullshit stunt, every single other major party refuses to put up a candidate for the by-election.
This means Farage is now running against one other candidate only: Count Binface, a man with a bin on his head.
Clacton-on-Sea now have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever.
@astronomerritt Binface FTW! I cannot express just how happy it would make me if Farage lost to Binface. Please, UK voters, do this for me
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> In a social media post announcing his departure, Reeves said: “If he wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won’t stop him.”
love it.
@dantleech Laughing about this for about ten solid minutes.
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@astronomerritt @WiteWulf hasn’t he been around for ages? I seem to remember him in the 90s
@BubblegumYeti @WiteWulf He was Lord Buckethead before he was hit by a copyright notice.
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@astronomerritt As regards the main parties not standing candidates, someone else pointed out that when Farage resigned, the investigation into his dodgy finances was paused - and if he's re-elected, it will be resumed straight away.
In other words, there are only two outcomes here: (1) Farage loses and is humiliated by Count Binface (yay!); (2) he wins, guaranteeing his finances will be all over the front pages again unless he resigns again and stays away from electoral politics (yay!).
@ApostateEnglishman And winning against Count Binface is certainly not the “plucky underdog Man of the People stands up against the Establishment” narrative he wanted, is it? Or, well, it is, but now he’s in the wrong role…
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@astronomerritt If count binface wins will he wear his costume in Parliament?
@alienghic Alas. I don’t think he’d be allowed to. Although the way they get on in there, I don’t think it’d be a huge blow to the dignity of Parliament if they did.
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The thing is, Farage is fucked either way. Sure, he will probably win the by-election, but he is standing against Count Binface, a satirical candidate who calls himself an “independent space warrior”. That’s hardly the resounding political victory he wanted. And if Binface gets any significant proportion of the votes, which he likely will, then that’s voters who would rather have a man with a bin on his head than Farage.
To be fair to Count Binface, he’s smart as hell and knows exactly what he is doing, and I (with Kemi fucking Badenoch, apparently) wish him all the luck in the world.
Latest development. Technically, MPs can’t resign, only request to be appointed to a symbolic role which bars them from the Commons, which can be denied by the sitting government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves had this to say:
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Latest development. Technically, MPs can’t resign, only request to be appointed to a symbolic role which bars them from the Commons, which can be denied by the sitting government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves had this to say:
@astronomerritt <shrug> I'd vote for the Count if I could. He makes some very valid points.
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@astronomerritt <shrug> I'd vote for the Count if I could. He makes some very valid points.
@roknrol I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for Count Binface. I mean that genuinely.
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@roknrol I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for Count Binface. I mean that genuinely.
Just trying to remove a little rubbish from Parliament
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Latest development. Technically, MPs can’t resign, only request to be appointed to a symbolic role which bars them from the Commons, which can be denied by the sitting government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves had this to say:
@astronomerritt The people of Clacton have a chance to achieve better.
In this case better has a bin on its head. No hyperbole, I genuinely believe that a man who spends his time dressed in a bin for the purpose of political satire is a better choice than a grifter. Better informed, better intentions, just all round a superior choice.
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Latest development. Technically, MPs can’t resign, only request to be appointed to a symbolic role which bars them from the Commons, which can be denied by the sitting government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves had this to say:
@astronomerritt It seems failed actor, failed father, failed musician etc, Laurence Fox is also entering the fray. It’s not bad news because he will split the Right vote.
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@astronomerritt there was a fabulous interview with Count Binface after the Makerfield by-election where the aging Sky News reporter obviously didn't know much about him, and got absolutely schooled.
Do not take the political satirist lightly, they tend to know their stuff
(Editted to use the honourable gentleman's correct title)
@WiteWulf @astronomerritt
There was a hilarious John Craig fuckup a few years back, where Sky handed over to him and he forgot he was live on air, and was shouting 'shit, shit shit' really loudly, before suddenly realising, and then carrying on as if all was well. We just happened to catch it as it happened, I can't find it on youtube, the only one I can find is some person on Instagram, but I'll be fucked if I'm joining that! Was really funny at the time -
@astronomerritt The people of Clacton have a chance to achieve better.
In this case better has a bin on its head. No hyperbole, I genuinely believe that a man who spends his time dressed in a bin for the purpose of political satire is a better choice than a grifter. Better informed, better intentions, just all round a superior choice.
@woe2you I 100% agree. I have nothing but respect for Count Binface and I frankly can’t wait to see what he does next. He’s a very sharp man.
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@astronomerritt It seems failed actor, failed father, failed musician etc, Laurence Fox is also entering the fray. It’s not bad news because he will split the Right vote.
@HarriettMB Holy shit is he actually?? Jesus, there’s blood in the water now, all the sharks are circling Farage.
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@astronomerritt The people of Clacton have a chance to achieve better.
In this case better has a bin on its head. No hyperbole, I genuinely believe that a man who spends his time dressed in a bin for the purpose of political satire is a better choice than a grifter. Better informed, better intentions, just all round a superior choice.
@woe2you @astronomerritt @bweller
I've said before that to be a successful comedian you must have a broad and deep knowledge of what’s going on in the world and the society you perform in. You also need to be very intelligent to see the connections that give a joke its “kick” that provokes the laugh reflex.#Binface has these qualities. #Farage has no sense of humour, he only punches down, and he only laughs when the little guy gets screwed.
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@woe2you @astronomerritt @bweller
I've said before that to be a successful comedian you must have a broad and deep knowledge of what’s going on in the world and the society you perform in. You also need to be very intelligent to see the connections that give a joke its “kick” that provokes the laugh reflex.#Binface has these qualities. #Farage has no sense of humour, he only punches down, and he only laughs when the little guy gets screwed.
@WenhamToo @woe2you @bweller If Binface wins I genuinely believe he will work harder for Clacton than Farage ever did. I mean, that isn’t hard, obviously, the bar is in hell serving as Kissinger’s personal limbo pole, but still.
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Just trying to remove a little rubbish from Parliament
@ricardoharvin @roknrol Bins are useful to society, after all. Farage is not.
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The thing is, Farage is fucked either way. Sure, he will probably win the by-election, but he is standing against Count Binface, a satirical candidate who calls himself an “independent space warrior”. That’s hardly the resounding political victory he wanted. And if Binface gets any significant proportion of the votes, which he likely will, then that’s voters who would rather have a man with a bin on his head than Farage.
To be fair to Count Binface, he’s smart as hell and knows exactly what he is doing, and I (with Kemi fucking Badenoch, apparently) wish him all the luck in the world.
@astronomerritt The absolute most hilarious thing would be Farage trying to pressure the King to elevate Binface to an actual Earldom in a effort to make him ineligible for the Commons. Which I'm not actually sure it would now with the reforms to the Lords.
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@astronomerritt The absolute most hilarious thing would be Farage trying to pressure the King to elevate Binface to an actual Earldom in a effort to make him ineligible for the Commons. Which I'm not actually sure it would now with the reforms to the Lords.
@simonbp Earl Binface? Why not.
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@JdeBP @oblomov @astronomerritt I would argue that Count Binface could actually win this. Under normal circumstances, of course, he never would. But these aren't normal circumstances. You need to make it very clear to Clacton voters that with those two candidates they are going to get a joke for an MP no matter what. Now do they want a joke that is actually funny, or a sick joke at their own expense? Ram that message home and Binface might actually win.
If they elect #CountBinface, I suspect that the comedian under the bin might actually do the job properly. It happened with that bloke who ran as H’Angus the Monkey for mayor of #Hartlepool.
Certainly, this is something that Binface could even joke about, with a pledge to actually hold surgeries, on bin day, or something.
https://mastodon.scot/@JdeBP/116880518592121653
So I don't think that it even comes down to a choice between jokes.
@oblomov @astronomerritt
#NigelFarage #ClactonOnSea #UKPolitics
