Timing is everything in comedy and, so it seems, in British politics for a perennial joke candidate who wears a garbage can on his head.
Count Binface, a self-described intergalactic space warrior, has landed in the center of the U.K.’s political universe ahead of a special election Thursday that was derided as a farce long before the ballot was packed with nearly three dozen candidates — many from the silly end of the spectrum.
Binface, who has run against prime ministers past and present, was the first to throw his bucket in the ring when Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage abruptly quit Parliament and said he would seek reelection to clear his name over financial allegations.
“Game on, Nige,” Binface declared soon after Farage, portraying himself as the victim of a witch hunt, said he would represent the people against the establishment.
But when the major political parties denounced Farage’s move as a political stunt and boycotted the Clacton-on-Sea election in southeastern England, the trash-talking comedian was launched into prime position as default challenger. He has been on a nonstop media blitz since.
“I’m the only fresh thing on the menu,” Binface told The Associated Press on a day of interviews with reporters from Japan, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. “You’re all sick of these politicians, as good as they’re trying to be, but you know you need something different, a little bit of secret sauce.”
The jokes have continued nearly nonstop — and not all are coming from the man in the can with a 20-point plan.
“If (Farage) wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won’t stop him,” then-Treasury Secretary Rachel Reeves, known more for number-crunching than playing for yuks, said as she officially accepted Farage’s resignation and set the stage for the special election.
Under Binface’s black cape, rubbish bin and ample body armor that looks straight out of a low-budget sci-fi film, is a middle-aged comedian named Jon Harvey trying to keep his cool during a sweaty summer.
You’d never know who was in there from talking to his alter ego. Binface never breaks character and delivers snarky ripostes when challenged to lift the lid.
“Has anyone here seen ‘Return of the Jedi’?” he said to a BBC host in reference to the “Star Wars” sequel where Darth Vader is unmasked. “Nobody wants to know what’s under the recycling. … It’s absolutely putrefying.”
Harvey is a married father of two who grew up in London and studied the classics at Oxford. He has been a TV writer on the political comedy “The Thick of It” and the humorous news quiz “Have I Got News for You.” He’s the author of a sports memoir written after his brother’s death and Binface’s memoir: “What on Earth? An Alien’s Guide to Fixing Britain.”
In a country where almost any adult citizen can run for office — regardless of where they live — eccentric candidates are a celebrated electoral tradition. On the 3-foot-long (90-centimeter-long) Clacton ballot, there are no fewer than three members of the Monster Raving Loony Party, including Nick the Incredible Flying Brick and Baron von Thunderclap.
Harvey’s turn in politics began almost a decade ago when he blasted to earth from the so-called planet of Sigma IX as Lord Buckethead to run for the House of Commons seat held by then-Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May. She won handily, but Binface rocketed to fame and landed on “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”
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But the use of Buckethead, borrowed from a “Star Wars” parody, ended in “an unfortunate battle on the planet Copyright.” He was reincarnated as Binface to take on Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
He twice challenged London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who proclaimed in his 2024 victory speech that he was the first person in British politics to win successive victories over Binface.
“Believe me, he made me work hard for it,” Khan quipped.
In June, Binface lost a parliamentary special election to Andy Burnham, who quickly replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister when he was forced out after his Labour Party was battered by Farage’s party in local and regional elections.
Binface, leader of the “Recyclons” on his home planet, continues to reuse items of past campaign manifestos that feature a mix of absurd and hyper-local policy offerings that don’t necessarily resonate with a global audience.
Among the more relatable points, he promises to “cut your taxes, and raise everyone else’s,” build one affordable home and nationalize singer Adele — whatever that means.
One item that has raised some eyebrows is a vow to relocate the hand dryer in the men’s restroom at the Crown & Treaty pub in Uxbridge to a more sensible location.
“Do you want to be using the urinal and have another human blasting your bits with insanely hot air?” he said.
His main selling point is that he’s not Farage, though he has opted not to directly attack his main opponent. Instead, his platform takes not-so-subtle digs at the populist often pictured with a pint of beer.
In reference to the gift Farage did not declare when he was elected, which is the source of a parliamentary investigation, Binface said he would not accept 5-million-pound ($6.7-million) gifts from “crypto billionaires (on Earth).”
He would also bar members of Parliament who resign midterm from running in the subsequent by-election and promised to spend more time in Clacton than Washington, D.C., a reference to Farage’s trips to the U.S., where he considers President Donald Trump an ally.
Binface, if elected, has no interest in dealing with Trump: “He’s awful.” But he would “love to cement” the so-called special relationship between Britain and the U.S. “with a galactic union.”
“You’ve still got the Atlantic Ocean. I can’t do much about that, but yes, I’d love to foster better relations,” he said.
Binface has conceded he doesn’t expect to win, but if he pulls off an otherworldly upset, he would have to check his headgear at the door of the House of Commons under rules that bar costumes and require businesslike attire.
He said some members of Parliament have been discussing making an exception.
“You might think they should be trying to fix the British economy, healthcare system and infrastructure first,” he said.
But those are issues for serious politicians and not ones you’ll find on a platform that includes price caps for croissants and a plan to punish scofflaw cyclists by making them ride unicycles.