{"id":579435,"date":"2026-07-10T22:59:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/579435\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T22:59:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:59:19","slug":"count-binface-the-independent-space-warrior-hoping-to-take-farages-seat-in-clacton-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/579435\/","title":{"rendered":"Count Binface: The \u2018independent space warrior\u2019 hoping to take Farage\u2019s seat in Clacton \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

While all the other political parties are boycotting Nigel Farage<\/a>\u2019s byelection in Clacton, a man in a bin costume is willing to entertain the Reform UK<\/a> leader\u2019s stunt.<\/p>\n

Count Binface was the first person to declare he would stand against Farage in the Essex constituency<\/a>. His satirical presence provides an unusual challenge to Farage\u2019s populist message.<\/p>\n

Binface has become a fixture of recent British election nights, having stood against \u2013 and on stage next to \u2013 Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Andy Burnham.<\/p>\n

He is the alter ego of a comedian Jon Harvey, who, in a previous incarnation, Lord Buckethead, also challenged then prime minister Theresa May in 2017. <\/p>\n

A copyright dispute forced the makeover in which he became an \u201cindependent space warrior\u201d, with policies such as \u201cbuilding at least one affordable house\u201d and \u201cnationalising Adele\u201d.<\/p>\n

His costumes and quick wit have won him online popularity, puncturing the atmosphere of political polarisation.<\/p>\n

\"LeftLeft to right: Count Binface stands next to Labour candidate Andy Burnham and Robert Pownall, after Burnham won the election for MP of Makerfield, on June 18th. Photograph: Oli Scarff\/AFP via Getty <\/p>\n

Standing against Farage \u2013 who called the Clacton byelection on Tuesday, after a scandal over a \u00a35 million gift and other undeclared benefits<\/a> \u2013 may provide his biggest platform yet.<\/p>\n

Leading politicians have embraced his challenge. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, told Sky News that, in the context of a \u201cpeople versus the establishment\u201d byelection, Binface \u201cmay be the people\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said that \u201cif [Farage] wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won\u2019t stop him\u201d.<\/p>\n

Binface told the Financial Times that the byelection was \u201cpotentially a complete sideshow and is therefore arguably a derogation of the parliamentary system\u201d and emphasised the hundreds of thousands of pounds it could cost the taxpayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reckon they\u2019re having a chat in Reform HQ right now, going, \u2018What have we done?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Nigel Farage faces new allegations about his finances. Here are the key detailsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

British citizens can stand to be an MP regardless of whether they live in the constituency, so long as they are nominated by 10 registered voters there.<\/p>\n

Obtaining the required signatures \u201chas not been too much of a problem\u201d in previous elections, Binface said, adding: \u201cIn fact, the more elections I do, the more friendly the humans of that place are, because they know me a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candidates must pay a deposit of \u00a3500, which is returned if they receive more than 5 per cent of the votes cast. In previous elections, Binface has never kept his deposit.<\/p>\n

Most recently, he took on Burnham, then mayor of Greater Manchester, in the Makerfield byelection. His manifesto pledges included \u201cI will cut your taxes, and raise everyone else\u2019s\u201d, and \u201cwifi on trains that works. Also trains that work\u201d. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, he received just 95 votes.<\/p>\n

Voters hoping to prevent a right-wing victory may turn to Binface, potentially making Clacton his strongest ever chance at success.<\/p>\n

Binface predicted there would probably be a \u201cmenagerie of interesting individuals\u201d on the ballot who may \u201cundercut\u201d him.<\/p>\n

He said of the main parties who were boycotting the Clacton vote: \u201cEither they have been scared by the magnificence of His Excellency, moi … or it\u2019s something to do with [the fact] they don\u2019t want a part of Nigel\u2019s cunning stunts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Binface justified his own participation. \u201cI think the fact that … even I, an alien from Sigma 9, can stand for election … is the sign that the British citizens are holding these politicians to account,\u201d he said, placing emphasis on the last syllable.<\/p>\n

Farage is almost certain to win the byelection in the pro-Brexit constituency, where he was elected by an 18 percentage point margin in 2024. He has denied wrongdoing over undeclared donations.<\/p>\n

Binface said he was at present \u201cgenning up\u201d on Clacton and the issues affecting it. Of his possible policies, he said: \u201cLet\u2019s suffice to say, price capping 99 Flakes [ice creams] at 99p in a seaside resort, I think that\u2019s going to be a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Burnham posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Binface on election night.<\/p>\n

Binface said that, while such support was \u201cconfusing\u201d, he also welcomed it \u201cto some extent\u201d. \u201cI also knew it would be inevitable. I am bin-evitable,\u201d he said. \u2013 Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While all the other political parties are boycotting Nigel Farage\u2019s byelection in Clacton, a man in a bin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[37363,9,10,13,14,6,11,12,15,16,5,20567,20566,7,8,20565,393,65,66,67],"class_list":["post-579435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-andy-burnham","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-nigel-farage","tag-reform-uk","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-uk-politics","tag-united-kingdom","tag-world","tag-world-news","tag-worldnews"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116898167134039018","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}