Count Binface
First appearance12 December 2018
Portrayed byJonathan David Harvey (2018–present)
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationPolitical satirist
NationalityBritish

Count Binface is a satirical political candidate created by the British comedian Jonathan David Harvey[1] in 2018.[2] He was a candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the 2019 United Kingdom general election against prime minister Boris Johnson. He also stood in the 2021 London mayoral election.

In earlier elections, Harvey stood as Lord Buckethead, but was forced to change the character due to a copyright dispute with the American filmmaker Todd Durham, who created Lord Buckethead for his 1984 science fiction film Hyperspace.[3][4]

In 2019, another individual contested the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat as Buckethead, representing the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, to which Binface said he "look[s] forward to both the hustings and to challenging [him] to take part in a receptacle-to-receptacle debate".[5]

When Johnson resigned as an MP in 2023, Binface again stood as a candidate in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, finishing eighth of 17.

Character

Count Binface is an independent space warrior[6] in a black and grey costume, with a long silver cape and a helmet shaped somewhat like a dustbin with a glowing strip where his eyes would be. Binface claimed to be 5,965 years old in 2019.[7]

2019 general election policies

Binface announced a series of satirical policies for the 2019 general election, including:

London mayoral election

Binface announced his intention to stand for the London Mayoral Election, which was originally scheduled for 2020, but was delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He announced a suite of 21 policies which "marries fiscal responsibility, social awareness, and not being an anti-vaccine nutjob", including:

Binface started a fundraiser to raise £10,000, the amount necessary to allow him to stand for Mayor of London. The excess money was donated to charity Shelter to help combat homelessness.[13] He finished ninth with 24,775 votes in the mayoral election.[17]

Electoral history

General election 2019: Uxbridge and South Ruislip[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Boris Johnson 25,351 52.6 +1.8
Labour Ali Milani 18,141 37.6 −2.4
Liberal Democrats Joanne Humphreys 3,026 6.3 +2.3
Green Mark Keir 1,090 2.3 +0.4
UKIP Geoffrey Courtenay 283 0.6 −2.8
Monster Raving Loony Lord Buckethead 125 0.3 N/A
Independent Count Binface 69 0.1 N/A
Independent Alfie Utting 44 0.1 N/A
Independent Yace Yogenstein 23 0.0 N/A
Independent Norma Burke 22 0.0 N/A
Independent Bobby Elmo Smith 8 0.0 N/A
Independent William Tobin 5 0.0 N/A
Turnout 48,174 68.5 +1.7
Mayor of London election 6 May 2021
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round
 First round votes  Transfer votes 
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Sadiq Khan 1,013,721 40.0% 192,313 1,206,034 55.2%
Conservative Shaun Bailey 893,051 35.3% 84,550 977,601 44.8%
Green Siân Berry 197,976 7.8%
Liberal Democrats Luisa Porritt 111,716 4.4%
Independent Niko Omilana 49,628 2.0%
Reclaim Laurence Fox 47,634 1.9%
London Real Brian Rose 31,111 1.2%
Rejoin EU Richard Hewison 28,012 1.1%
Count Binface Count Binface 24,775 1.0%
Women's Equality Mandu Reid 21,182 0.8%
Let London Live Piers Corbyn 20,604 0.8%
Animal Welfare Vanessa Hudson 16,826 0.7%
UKIP Peter Gammons 14,393 0.6%
Independent Farah London 11,869 0.5%
Heritage David Kurten 11,025 0.4%
Independent Nims Obunge 9,682 0.4%
SDP Steve Kelleher 8,764 0.3%
Renew Kam Balayev 7,774 0.3%
Independent Max Fosh 6,309 0.2%
Burning Pink Valerie Brown 5,305 0.2%
Labour hold
2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election[19][20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Steve Tuckwell 13,965 45.2 −7.4
Labour Danny Beales 13,470 43.6 +6.0
Green Sarah Green 893 2.9 +0.7
Reclaim Laurence Fox 714 2.3 New
Liberal Democrats Blaise Baquiche 526 1.7 -4.6
SDP Steve Gardner 248 0.8 New
Independent Kingsley Hamilton Anti-Ulez[lower-alpha 1] 208 0.7 New
Count Binface Count Binface 190 0.6 +0.5
Independent No-Ulez Leo Phaure[lower-alpha 1] 186 0.6 New
Rejoin EU Richard Hewison 105 0.3 New
Let London Live Piers Corbyn 101 0.3 New
Independent Cameron Bell 91 0.3 New
CPA Enomfon Ntefon 78 0.3 New
UKIP Rebecca Jane 61 0.2 -0.4
Climate Ed Gemmell 49 0.2 New
Monster Raving Loony Howling Laud Hope 32 0.1 −0.2
Independent 77 Joseph[lower-alpha 2] 8 0.0 New
Majority 495 1.6 −13.4
Turnout 31,000 46.23 Decrease17.3
Registered electors
Conservative hold Swing −6.7

Notes

  1. 1 2 Names "Anti-Ulez"[21] and "No-Ulez"[22] indicate opposition to London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
  2. Otherwise known as Thomas Faithful Darwood, his ballot name alludes to Pharaoh's dream interpreted by Joseph in the Book of Genesis.[23]

See also

References

  1. "New MPs elected at July by-elections". parliament.uk. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  2. Cockburn, Harry (15 November 2019). "Former Lord Buckethead takes aim at rival candidate who took his name as he bids to unseat Boris Johnson". The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  3. Waterson, Jim (26 May 2019). "Double trouble: the fight to be the real Lord Buckethead". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019. 'People should know it's not the same person,' said comedian Jon Harvey, confirming for the first time that he was the man in the plastic mask during the 2017 general election. 'It's being run by an American from Beverly Hills.'
  4. "Comedian Jon Harvey to take on Boris Johnson as Count Binface". comedy.co.uk. 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019. 'Harvey previously took on Theresa May as Lord Buckethead, but has changed the character after an American-lead copyright dispute'
  5. Jamieson, Alastair (17 November 2019). "Boris versus Binface: The barmy battles in Britain's 'Brexit election'". euronews. Archived from the original on 25 November 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  6. 1 2 Morrison, Sean (14 November 2019). "Man behind Lord Buckethead to run in PM constituency under new alias". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  7. "Johnson rival Binface makes bid for Christmas number one". Hillingdon & Uxbridge Times. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  8. Heritage, Stuart (8 June 2017). "The 2017 election awards: from best eating of a Pringle to biggest dolt". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  9. "Johnson rival Binface makes bid for Christmas number one". South West Londoner. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "MANIFESTO!". www.countbinface.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sharma, Ruchira (6 December 2019). "Count Binface lost the rights to Lord Buckethead, but he's still fighting the PM". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  12. Delahunty, Stephen (6 June 2017). "Alternative Maidenhead candidates go head-to-head at hustings". Maidenhead Advertiser. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Count Binface Runs for Mayor of London". YouTube.
  14. "London 2021 Manifesto". Count Binface. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  15. "Count Binface Twitter ನಲ್ಲಿ: 'Here is my full manifesto for London. Can any other candidate beat this? No chance! #VoteBinface #MakeYourVoteCount...'". Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  16. Count Binface meets Owen Jones, archived from the original on 5 May 2021, retrieved 6 May 2021
  17. "Results 2021". London Elects. 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  18. "Uxbridge & Ruislip South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  19. Rufo, Yasmin (23 June 2023). "Uxbridge by-election full candidate list revealed". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  20. "Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election 2023 results". Hillingdon Council. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  21. "Candidate Kingsley Hamilton". Getty Images. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  22. "Candidate Leo Phaure". Getty Images. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  23. "Joseph77". Joseph77. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
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