Count Binface

https://countbinface.com

by mooreds • 10 days ago

348 289 10 days ago

countbinface.com

BLKNSLVR2• 10 days ago

I wish Count Binface all the best for the Clacton by-election.

Edited to add: Some of my favourite commentary around this by-election is along the lines of:

A fundamentally un-serious candidate with no coherent policies or political experience running against Count Binface.

whh• 10 days ago

I, for one, am ready for FFS1 & nationalising Adele.

blitzar2• 10 days ago

Finally someone willing to stand up and make the tough decisions about the hand dryer in the gents' toilet at the Crown & Treaty, Uxbridge.

starshadowx2• 10 days ago

Vote Bin, not rubbish!

WJW3• 10 days ago

Time for Bindependence day!

WalterGR• 10 days ago

(In the US, his name would translate as Count Trash Can-Face or Count Garbage Can-Face.)

josemanuel• 10 days ago

Same in the UK. If you look at his pic, you’ll see it’s literal!

JumpCrisscross3• 10 days ago

"Bin," generally, isn't British English. We have recycling bins, for instance.

gwerbin3• 10 days ago

Yes but in the USA a "bin" usually refers to a generic category of containers, often rectangular. A "recycling bin" is a specific kind of bin, and it's almost always qualified as such. If you called it a "bin" out of context people would be confused or think you're trying to be British or something.

zabzonk• 10 days ago

isn't British English.

Eh? Most commonly uttered words in UK English: "Have you put the bins out?"

drcongo• 10 days ago

The trashcan on modern macOS in Britain is called the "bin" and I hate it - somehow it feels wrong.

gwerbin3• 10 days ago

Or in Massachusetts, Count Barrelface.

lproven4• 10 days ago

No. The point of the comment was to clarify the confusion that you are reinforcing.

A "bin" in BrEn does not mean a generic container: it generally means a receptacle for waste, refuse, or garbage.

blitzar2• 10 days ago

Binny McBin Face.

dyauspitr• 10 days ago

With this much memery he would probably win the presidential election in the US.

actionfromafar2• 10 days ago

Nah, I think Americans are more into cruelty as entertainment.

wxw• 10 days ago

I’m an intergalactic space warrior and leader of the Recyclons from planet Sigma IX.

Ok you have my vote.

D_Alex• 10 days ago

Policies include building one affordable house.

Mine too.

JumpCrisscross3• 10 days ago

"Harvey previously stood as a similar character, Lord Buckethead, but was forced to create a new character due to a dispute with the filmmaker Todd Durham, who owns the Buckethead character" [1].

(The videos on this website are worth the watch. Hilarious, of course. But also...Binface conjugates Latin to Sky News, and not just as a bit. I don't know how I feel about the British comedy candidate outclassing half of the American elected leadership–and a good fraction of its industrial leadership–on IQ.)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Binface

BLKNSLVR2• 10 days ago

Excerpt from linked page:

I came to Earth in 2017 and stood against Prime Minister Theresa May (as ‘Lord Buckethead’). Then in 2018, after an unfortunate battle on the planet Copyright, I rewspawned in my true form as Count Binface.

unfitted2545• 10 days ago

I think it's so interesting he was a scriptwriter for "The Thick of It", a satirical comedy about British politics

flopsamjetsam• 10 days ago

That is excellent, and explains much!

dofm14• 10 days ago

FWIW I don’t at all think it’s wrong for people to pick up on whether this would make him a good representative of Clacton were he to win (which isn’t going to happen and he surely thinks it is not).

Part of Clacton is relatively well off; part of the wider constituency (Jaywick) is genuinely deprived on a national scale, and they really do need an MP that bothers to understand them and that they can relate to.

Farage is absolutely manipulating and exploiting them for his own benefit; he uses their concerns to give himself a way to play on the national stage but he is a pretty terrible MP (though he’s not the only politician to forget they have a local constituency).

But if Binface could win, I don’t think it’s at all wrong to question whether the man under the bin is going to be good for them.

His job, I think, is to expose Farage’s lies and insecurities.

dofm14• 10 days ago

I don't know how I feel about the British comedy candidate outclassing half of the American elected leadership–and a good fraction of its industrial leadership–on IQ.)

Your entire political system has flirted with anti-intellectualism for over a century; it used to pretend to be uneducated simpletons to appeal to the electorate (witness, e.g. the folksy “ahhm just a simple mayynn” gurning schtick of Senator John Kennedy, who literally fakes his accent and demeanour despite having a sharp legal mind and Oxford degree, and who could likely conjugate latin; he is following a path trodden by Bill Clinton) and now it has refined the concept such that politicians can actually be simpletons for real: Tommy Tuberville isn’t faking being thick and neither is Markwayne Mullin.

I don’t know about conjugating latin specifically (I used to be able to do this but the memory has faded) but the standard of literacy in the UK was excellent.

We do now have a fairly similar literacy skills profile in the young as the USA and Canada, but unlike in the USA, older adults outperform them, partly because more of us were exposed to the (now essentially eliminated) selective education (grammar school) system that favoured advanced literacy.

We are thus as I understand it unique in having (ETA: or having had) declining literacy; it is declining to the US/Canada level rather than below it but it is rather sad.

Binface went to good schools and has an Oxford classics degree, I think. Much of our political class did. More recently they will have done the PPE degree (which is more or less training to be a politician). He is in that sense as “establishment” as Farage, but more importantly he is a product of that fading system. So it is this you are observing; writers, politicians, actors often come from that declining tradition.

Side note: even many politicians from a non-traditional background have gone through this path at some level; the famously working-class deputy prime minister John Prescott studied at Ruskin College, which was a college associated with the trade union movement based in and sort of orbiting Oxford University that specialised in providing PPE-type education to aspiring politicians from working class backgrounds (originally founded, incidentally, by two Americans)

madaxe_again2• 10 days ago

Isn’t it the democratic ideal though? Of the people, for the people. If a representative democracy is to truly be representative then the elected representatives should be… representative? Tuberville and Mullin I wouldn’t say were thick so much as they’re pretty average.

teamonkey4• 10 days ago

I went looking for stats saying the UK has declining literacy rates but could only find ones that said that literacy was improving.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics/indicators/e...

tim3332• 10 days ago

declining tradition

Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, and David Cameron went to Oxford and Starmer did a postgrad there.

So the current PM and previous five.

Maybe Binface can make PM after all?

zeumo• 10 days ago

Why would Todd Durham have issues with a Lord Buckethead doing his thing in another country and continent, but apparently not with a guitar player named Buckethead in the United States?

lmm2• 10 days ago

Presumably because he thinks (rightly or wrongly) that the one is damaging his reputation while the other is not.

dofm14• 10 days ago

Lord Buckethead (the at-that-point temporary novelty candidate) was much closer to (and inspired by) Durham’s character, to be fair.

Ultimately it is all for the good; clearly a -face name is much more quintessentially British.

Barbing2• 10 days ago

Ouch, Durham’s Buckethead didn’t even make it above the collapsed See Also on Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckethead_(disambiguation)

Also in the US, Apple’s search assumes we want the guitarist.

gpderetta3• 10 days ago

that's all right, Lord Buckethead has now officially endorsed Count Binface for the by-election: https://xcancel.com/DavidHughesTwit/status/20759264658461409...

gadders7• 10 days ago

>But also...Binface conjugates Latin to Sky News

He studied Classics at Oxford. He'd be in trouble if he couldn't.

pjc5013• 10 days ago

Note that the ability to conjugate Latin does not correlate with good character, despite what the English public school system would have you think. Most famous example of that is of course Enoch Powell.

It is however true that you're only allowed to say true, intelligent things in British politics if you're a joke candidate. Jester's privilege. Binface has driven the rightwing press mad because he's the last threat to their darling candidate, so they're now trying to smear him as if he were a serious candidate. Which he is not. The end result is very funny.

nephihaha4• 10 days ago

Enoch Powell was gifted linguistically, despite his notoriety elsewhere (and his Brummie accent?). I heard he was fluent in Urdu of all things, and was even seen speaking to Pakistanis in it when he was out campaigning. He could speak Welsh too. I was reading some academic paper on Greek literature once, I forget which, only to notice that it was written by one J. Enoch Powell.

blast• 10 days ago

Prior art: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaty_McBoatface

breppp• 10 days ago

I thought that's the prior art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waldo_Moment

rf15• 10 days ago

Lord Buckethead is much older than Boaty McBoatface.

rjsw2• 10 days ago

Better prior art [1], in an actual election.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Drummond

manarth2• 10 days ago

Also members of the Original Monster Raving Loony Party, who have achieved multiple seats, including Mayor of Ashburton.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Monster_Raving_Loony_...

lproven4• 10 days ago

Still no: "Lord Buckethead" first stood in 1987, some 15 years before the "H'Angus the monkey" campaign in 2002.

Lio5• 10 days ago

Actually the prior art is Screaming Lord Sutch of the Monster Raving Looney Party[1] who started in 1963.

As a former Monster Raving Looney I have decided to defect to the Binface Party based on their sensible policies on the hand dryer in the Uxbridge Crown & Treaty pub.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_Lord_Sutch

lproven4• 10 days ago

Nope. Several decades later.

The "Boaty McBoatface" campaign was from 2016. "Lord Buckethead" first appeared in 1987, some 30 years earlier.

mellosouls• 10 days ago

Related mini-discussion the other day:

Farage left fighting a trash can as the UK populist's election gamble backfires

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48848034

llimos• 10 days ago

There's a long tradition in the UK of comedy candidates, notably the Monster Raving Loony Party.

There's even some talk of a potential Loony-Bin alliance.

onion2k2• 10 days ago

The difference in this instance is that all of the major parties have stood aside, leaving the Clacton by-election as a race between Nigel Farage and Count Binface. Essentially it's turned into an election between Farage and anyone-but-Farage.

I sincerely hope the best alien wins.

stavros9• 10 days ago

I don't understand what this is, can someone explain? Clacton seems to be a town in the UK, are they campaigning for mayor? What's the relevance, why is Farage even involved?

Someone• 10 days ago

notably the Monster Raving Loony Party.

The _Official_ Monster Raving Loony Party (http://www.loonyparty.com/), you mean?

Wikipedia (of course) has a page on it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Monster_Raving_Loony_...) and also has a list of frivolous political parties worldwide (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_frivolous_political_pa...)

M2Ys4U3• 10 days ago

There's even some talk of a potential Loony-Bin alliance.

Nah, never going to happen. There's history between Binface and the Loonies... and they're a lot more right-wing than people often think they are

gib4444• 10 days ago

£3-6 croissants are a travesty and £1.10 price capping is the most sensible thing I've heard for decades. And that hand dryer is in an AWFUL position

More seriously, he actually seems like a decent guy. This is a really touching and personal history which gets into his motivations and his life https://archive.ph/61Ecw

thih9• 10 days ago

Novelty candidates sometimes get elected, e.g. Stuart Drummond.

Drummond immediately decided to concentrate on politics and ceased being H'Angus; he was quoted as saying, "I am Stuart Drummond, I am the Mayor of Hartlepool, not the monkey." Drummond was re-elected in 2005, more than doubling his vote (up to over 16,000)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H'Angus

TomK323• 10 days ago

He was re-elected once more in 2009 and because the English have a really weird political system, the direct election of mayor was abolished by a vote in 2012 making him the first, last and only directly elected mayor the town ever had.

GeoAtreides• 10 days ago

Not only do they get elected, sometimes they become heroes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy

Cthulhu_4• 10 days ago

Don't think they intended to be a novelty or parody candidate though. Just someone famous for something else turning to politics, just like Schwarzenegger.

taran_narat• 10 days ago

This person is hilarious, for non-UK people who are wondering what this is, this is a joke candidate for an MP who is getting a lot of attention because of the political system in the UK not working very well. This YouTube video has sort of started this off recently and made him go viral

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MCCVt8IhJkA&pp=ygUHQmluZmFjZQ%...

stingraycharles• 10 days ago

What I find interesting is that he seems to be the only candidate? Aren’t there actual political parties that could have produced legitimate candidates?

gostsamo• 10 days ago

There were but decided not to stand candidates, likely fearing humiliating defeat.

robin_reala• 10 days ago

The election was triggered because a populist politician being investigated for corruption decided to step down, triggering an election so that he could run again to theoretically prove that he was who the people wanted regardless of the corruption investigation. This backfired when every other party refused to field a candidate (that is, to go along with his plan), apart from Binface. So Farage’s “me vs the establishment” commentary is not going as he expected.

buildfocus• 10 days ago

The election is a re-election vote triggered by the MP already in the very safe seat, as a distraction from "where did all this money come from" investigations around him (which are also conveniently paused by this byelection).

He's arguing that if he gets reelected then the investigation doesn't matter. The other parties are arguing it's a stunt, and so are fielding no candidates.

Binface's candidacy accurately represents the absurdity of the whole thing.

317070• 10 days ago

Those other parties all declined to compete in this by-election. They want Farage to stand to the rule of law on his corruption, and not endorse this procedural manoeuvre.

The timing of this by-election is also such that, were there an actual race, Farage would likely get his propaganda on the front of the newspapers throughout the summer months while everyone else in politics is on holiday.

TomK323• 10 days ago

Other interested candidates can submit their nomination from tomorrow to Friday and I think one needs the support of only 10 constituents and a hundred quid

More info should follow here today:

https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/content/13-august-2026-electio...

luke5441• 10 days ago

Since it is a first-past the post system it would have been best if the other parties coordinated to only let the best party compete.

Having Count Binface as the only other candidate is IMO a second-best option.

foldr• 10 days ago

The system has proved to be quite dynamic, really. The electorate have had real choices over the past 10-15 years. Stay in the EU or don’t. Elect a genuine socialist or a centre-right conservative as Prime Minister. And unpopular or incompetent Prime Ministers have been removed quite promptly.

It’s time to get rid of FPTP, but the real problem seems to be that people just keep voting for the wrong policies.

teamonkey4• 10 days ago

This person is hilarious, for non-UK people who are wondering what this is, this is a joke candidate for an MP who is getting a lot of attention because of the political system in the UK not working very well.

Yes and he’s running against Count Binface

(sorry)

pibaker• 9 days ago

the political system in the UK not working very well

"Joke candidate making a serious attempt at practically unseating a probably corrupt party leader through democratic voting process" is infinitely better than what happens on the other side of the Atlantic. Or as I would call it "vote for one of the two presidential candidates who can't form a coherent sentence. Except your vote doesn't matter because your state is deep red or blue. And your congressional vote doesn't matter either because you are gerrymandered. But your congressional vote not mattering doesn't matter anyway because the congress has given up governing."

deanc3• 10 days ago

Farage is polarising. I think there is a genuine chance that tactical voters can rally behind a candidate who feasibly can get the votes. However, you have to remember this is an election for a representative of a constituency. The people in Clacton are voting for a candidate that will represent their needs in parliament. I don't think the left are going to vote for Binface as although it would be the biggest FU in history, the antidote to Farage-ism, it won't offer them change in their area - and won't give them a voice in parliament, which Farage has done.

hdgvhicv6• 10 days ago

Farage has not given them a voice in parliament. He’s barely been in the country.

He’s spoken 41 times in parliament in 2 years, almost entirely on national issues.

My own back bench opposition MP (lib dem) has spoken over 400 times. The next constituency over (Tory) has spoken 1000 times, both raising local issues.

Binface would give Clacton a far higher profile. A literal bin would.

There’s no other candidate those anti Farage could vote for.

deanc3• 10 days ago

I just want to preface this by saying he's a repugnant, awful human being and potentially is going to be one of the worst things that ever happens to the UK.

But... that's exactly what people in Clacton voted him in for. He was never going to represent their local interests - I think a lot of the locals realise that now. They care more about "immigration" and race-baiting than they care about the pot holes on their roads. This is the reality of modern politics.

My comment was more about the people who will never vote Reform, than the people that did.

Havoc• 10 days ago

I hope he wins the upcoming election. Won’t but one can hope…

The actual politician he’s standing against is an asshole

VBprogrammer• 10 days ago

There is at least some concern within their camp that they could lose the election to a guy with a bin on his head. That for me is a win.

madaxe_again2• 10 days ago

There was an interview with him the other day on LBC in which they asked if he wasn’t worried he might have his vote split with the MRLP - Monster Raving Looney Party - but he pointed out quite adroitly that they are just as likely to split reform’s vote, so the more the merrier.

jayflux• 10 days ago

He’s very popular in clacton and his odds to win are like 90%, I doubt anyone in his team are genuinely worried about losing.

Macha2• 10 days ago

I think Binface is going to smash his own records and get to like 20%. Farage will get enough that Farage is going to claim the result as a decisive victory while at the same time the result is actually deeply embarrassing for Farage.

petepete• 10 days ago

While I think your prediction is going to come true, deep down I'm rooting for Binface.

He wouldn't get away with his headgear in the commons but top hats are permitted (at least when not speaking) so he has some room for manoeuvre.

crote7• 10 days ago

That's just the thing: Farage tried to create an "underdog vs the establishment" scenario where his corruption charged could be ignored because of "the voice of the people", but right now the absolute best he could hope for is winning from a garbage can.

There's just no way to claim that as a decisive victory with a straight face. It'll always come with the caveat "... against a bin" - which means Farage has already lost.

frakrx2• 10 days ago

A serious candidate could probably defeat Farage but they are hiding behind this Binface thing and present it as a smart move. Cowards.

athrowaway3z2• 10 days ago

I think you wildly misunderstand the situation.

If what you think is true, why did Farage step down call the election in the first place?

It seems rather clear it was a PR stunt he knows he'll win in this district, which lets him distract from his own corruption scandals.

But if you think there is some other reason I'd be interesting to hear the theory.

frakrx2• 10 days ago

A joke candidate with a bincan head has about 15-20% odds of winning this election. A serious candidate from a real party could have a real chance of defeating Farage but seems noone was brave enough. Better play it safe, take no risks and run away from fights. Thats the way forward for UK.

Hikikomori• 9 days ago

Count binface is NOT funny.

Lio5• 9 days ago

They probably couldn't. Farage is in very safe seat. He wouldn't have called the election otherwise.

You don't vote for a comedy character to win an election in a safe seat, because they won't.

You vote for Binface because you think Nige is wasting money on a pointless box ticking distraction instead of spending the money locally to fix things.

Farage hasn't got much of a sense of humour but if massive majority gets smaller he might spend more time in the area and less time in America on speaking engagements.

bufio• 10 days ago

Reddit Moment

sodimel• 10 days ago

Even the favicon is great!

ra• 10 days ago

The Ipsos poll cited in the first image was a survey of 1,000 uk citizens 18+. It wasn't a poll of 1,000 people in Clacton. It's meaningless and I'm surprised they used it.

crote7• 10 days ago

It isn't meaningless, it gives a (very) rough estimate of how the general population feels about it. Coming in third in a two-person poll is... quite rough.

You also have to keep in mind that it isn't about Clacton. It is a city of no importance. Farage chose to run there in 2024 because he expected it'd be a slam-dunk for him - and it was. He does literally nothing for the people of Clacton, it is just his entry into the House.

On the other hand, Farage is trying to establish himself as the major right-wing option. If he wants to become Prime Minister he'll need to have nationwide support - and the Ipsos poll is a pretty decent indication of how the nation feels about Farage right now.

athrowaway3z2• 10 days ago

One of his policies is to build 1 affordable house - which is brilliant.

isqueiros• 10 days ago

At least one! We might even get two.

amiga386• 10 days ago

In case you're wondering why there's so much interest in the Count, the reason is his opponent.

Nigel Farage is a populist gobshite. He's in trouble because he refused to declare a £5 million donation from a crypto billionaire, Christopher Harborne. MPs are expected to declare any "gifts" that might sway them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_UK_financial_allegation...

After Farage took that "gift", he became an MP and lobbied the Bank of England to adopt a stablecoin that Christopher Harborne was heavily invested in.

Recently, the press found years and years of undeclared dodgy donations to Farage and his party, many from convicted fraudster "Posh" George Cottrell, author of book How to Launder Money.

Sleazy MPs who take bribes are investigated, can be reprimanded, can be recalled by their constituents.

Farage is trying to get ahead of the curve by resigning now, then competing in the election for his successor. He's hoping to pause the investigation into his finances, and wants to pull the populist move of "The People support me!"

Every major party sees this trap and have boycotted Nigel's self-election. They'll fight him in the next election, after he's recalled for sleaze.

Effectively he is standing unopposed... except for the joke candidates. And who better a joke candidate than a quick-witted comedian in a ridiculous outfit? £500 to rip the piss out of Farage for a month is a bargain.

The thing populists hate most is being ridiculed and not taken seriously. It really pricks their ego. Will Nigel spend summer arguing with a bin? Will Nigel lose to a bin? That's for the people of Clacton to decide.

jimbob45• 10 days ago

Is this the British equivalent of the American Vermin Supreme?

SideburnsOfDoom4• 10 days ago

Kinda, yes,

However there is a larger tradition of comedy candidates in the UK than in the USA. See also the Monster Raving Loony Party https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Monster_Raving_Loony_...

And this sketch from Monty Python in 1970 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVI5ZOT5QEM

Gupie• 10 days ago

A contest between on one side a comedian with joke policies and on the other side Count Binface!

ayaros• 10 days ago

I have so many questions...

I wonder how the legalities of this work. If people write in "Count Binface" or if that's the name on the ballot, then if he wins, does that mean Jonathan David Harvey (the actual name of the guy who plays him) is elected? Does Count Binface count as an alias? If not, he required to use that name while in office - or more precisely, is he not considered a member if he goes by his own name?

If he goes into the parliament building without his costume, it would be a bit awkward if, say, they were required to address him by his Count Binface alias.

Or, perhaps they wouldn't care too precisely about the naming aspect, since everyone knows who he is, but politics is vicious and I'm sure there are plenty who would use any possible legal maneuver to keep him out of parliament. Surely there are laws to handle these kinds of discrepancies around someone's identity... right? Laws that could get him kicked out?

If he actually wins, would he try to do some serious good or would he keep the joke going? Should he actually prepare a serious "if I actually win the election" policy list? It would conflict with his joke list since he would be asked more questions about the real one. Or would he just have one big mixed list split 50/50 between jokes and serious ideas?

flowerbreeze• 10 days ago

In my experience in the UK aliases and names are used in a rather flexible way compared to other countries. Anybody can decide on a name and start using it. It's not illegal unless it is done for the purpose of deceiving people.

If people commonly use it to refer to them it makes it that person's name for most purposes. Changing the name officially also requires only an affirmation or an oath at a court, although I don't think this would be the case here.

I think nobody would care much and the majority of politicians would go along with Count Binface as the proper way of address, because it'd be rude to do otherwise. Not the least because picking a fight with Count Binface would be seen as getting themselves dirty in non-serious politics. Not a very attractive proposition to be perceived as such for most political parties no matter how ridiculous their actions might be otherwise.

edent• 10 days ago

There's no such thing as a "legal name" in the UK. For example, Boris Johnson's first name isnt actually Boris - that's just what he goes by.

wizzwizz43• 10 days ago

The first name component of the name "Boris Johnson" is Boris. It's just as valid a name as any other name he goes by, for both social and legal purposes.

karel-3d• 10 days ago

Huh that's new. I knew you guys don't have any official government ID (and that it was an issue in Blair era) but I didn't knew you don't even have legal names.

esskay2• 10 days ago

We're super flexible on name law in the UK. I could change my name right now and just use it, I dont need any formal approval or anything to do so. It only becomes a legal issue if you do it for legally questionable reasons.

TomK323• 10 days ago

If he goes into the parliament building without his costume

If the people vote for a man in a bin costume then he should have the right to represent them in that very same costume. On the other hand, to satisfy both his desire for a costumes as well as parliament's rules that basically allow its members to look at each other eye to eye, he might switch to a transparent bin. Something that would benefit the whole country as transparent bins allow its users as well as the bin (wo)men to identify bins that have been filled with the wrong waste.

r_i_m_b_a_u_d• 10 days ago

he might switch to a transparent bin

Tremendous comment :-)

crote7• 10 days ago

He's called Count Binface for a reason: he isn't wearing a hat, that's just his face!

Cthulhu_4• 10 days ago

Can't take out the (political) trash without first exposing it. The transparent bin is a great analogy lmao

a_humean• 10 days ago

The biggest practical obstacle, other than getting elected, is the dress code for the house of commons which disallows military uniform, disallows face covering (while voting), and requires smart business attire. You could argue that he might be in violation of all three!

The name isn't really that much of a problem.

lambdaone4• 10 days ago

To be fair, we really don't know what counts as smart business attire on Sigma IX.

JsonDemWitOster3• 10 days ago

The name isn't really that much of a problem.

I know you are explaining in earnest but the way you ended and formatted it is sooo (un?)intentionally funny. Like, of all the stunts Binface is pulling, the name is the least legitimate of concerns.

Kinda like what they say about the poor people of Clacton having to choose between a joke trash candidate and Count Binface.

What's this type of makes-you-do-double-take, got-me-in-the-first-half-ngl humor called other than just British?

crote7• 10 days ago

His face isn't covered, his face is a bin. I would've thought the whole "Count Binface" made that pretty clear...

fauigerzigerk2• 10 days ago

Also, parliament has a rule against wearing costumes like this. But Count Binface called that rule "binist" and claimed there was some wiggle room in the way the rule was worded :)

I think leaving the seat empty if he wins is the only possible choice, both legally and democratically. He should make it clear that this is what would happen if he gets elected so the people of Clacton know what they are voting for.

einpoklum• 10 days ago

As described in one of the clips at the link, that rule says "in general", and one can well argue that this is the penultimate special case.

another-dave2• 10 days ago

I think Erskine May just says "Members should dress in business-like attire" - so maybe if he had a special 'business bin' as opposed to a 'smart-casual bin' he could argue the point.

He would though have to remove the bin for votes at the least

gib4444• 10 days ago

I'd say standards have dropped so low, we may as well let in fancy dress. Lots of people in cheap thin dresses with no jacket [0] (some show knee when sat, even half an upper leg! [1]), boat shoes, white suits etc. They look like a collection of wedding guests.

Let's not get started on the sexism against men with Hoyle wanting them to wear ties and a jacket but for women just 'business-like' is expected.

[0] https://youtu.be/c3AsuotuPFs?t=94

[1] https://youtu.be/c3AsuotuPFs?t=755

zwischenzug2• 10 days ago

In Parliament, members are referred to by the place they represent, eg "The Right Honourable Member for Harry Pottershire" rather than their names. It's a way to make things less personal.

In fact, "naming" an MP is mark of having broken the rules:

https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/naming-o...

gib4444• 10 days ago

I like it as a reminder that they're there to represent their constituents, and it means lesser known places are regularly mentioned in parliament (what with it being in London)

bluehatbrit2• 10 days ago

The British constitution is unwritten and based on centuries of convention which are so old they are considered law... Sort of.

From what I can tell there isn't anything about identity in the way you're suggesting. However there are conventions and regulations around dress in the Commons which preclude wearing hats.

As for what he'd do if he won, he hasn't said so far. However he does have a policy list which includes nationalising Adel and building 1 affordable home. As an MP he could campaign for those and attempt to table a private members bill.

I think the answer to a lot of these questions is "we don't know". He's been running in various campaigns for years, this is just the first time he's the only other candidate in a potentially high profile campaign.

I hope some Oxfoed PPE students will be using this for their dissertations.

pjc5013• 10 days ago

There's slightly more controversy about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_Manivannan , who is perfectly calibrated to annoy the maximum number of rightwingers: nonbinary immigrant on a temporary visa with a one-letter chosen name.

There are (fortunately) very few rules on who's allowed to be an MP. The public are supposed to be the ultimate arbiter. The rule against being elected while in prison was only introduced after Bobby Sands MP, for example. Otherwise the rules seem mainly concerned that you're not bankrupt or holding an ineligible state office.

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance-candidates-a...

M2Ys4U3• 10 days ago

If he goes into the parliament building without his costume, it would be a bit awkward if, say, they were required to address him by his Count Binface alias.

Members of Parliament aren't allowed to address each other by name in the Commons chamber.

All debate must be addressed to the Speaker (or Deputy Speaker if one of them are chairing the debate).

References to other members are made in the form of "the X member for Y constituency", where X is:

- "honourable" (the default);

- "right honourable" if they are sworn of the Privy Council (i.e. they've been a minister in the past);

- "learned and honourable member" (a qualified lawyer); or

- "gallant and honourable member" (somebody who has served in the armed forces).

ben_w4• 9 days ago

UK is very flexible with names; see for example how former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's full name is "Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson", but his parliamentary profile just says "Boris Johnson" https://members.parliament.uk/member/1423/career

Also, in 2002, Richard James changed his name to “Mr Yellow-Rat Foxysquirrel Fairydiddle”, in exchange for a pint of beer*.

You're not allowed to use a deed poll to give yourself a title, so the "Count" part of "Count Binface" may need to be changed, but specifically because he presents himself as an intergalactic space lord, the official example (for passports) is with "Doctor" being used as a first name being fine when it's not a fake title: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-names-we-use-...

* It says something about the world we live in that my effort to find the story about Mr Fairydiddle returned one of my own comments on hacker news rather than a newspaper: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26375394

1a527dd5• 10 days ago

If you are interested in a pretty good political discussion - this is worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV5E2UYwUkk

logifail2• 10 days ago

Neither Binface nor Farage have any answers for the problems the UK appears to be facing; this election feels like something specifically designed to create material for viewers of Have I Got News For You[0] to laugh at.

From The Atlantic: "The [UK's] output per person is now only just above that of Mississippi, America’s poorest state - and that slight lead is only achieved thanks to London. Outside the capital, in places where tourists do not visit, living standards fall well below Mississippi’s"[1]

According to the IEA, the UK has the highest industrial electricity prices of the 25 IEA countries reporting data.[2]

Hinkley Point C is routinely described as the most expensive nuclear power station ever built, four times the average for South Korean plants. Guaranteed pricing originally £92.50/MWh (2012 prices), now equivalent to around £133/MWh (2025 prices), inflation-linked for 35 years...[3]

HS2 is consistently ranked as the most expensive high-speed rail on the planet.[4]

[0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mkw3

[1] How Britain Became as Poor as Mississippi - A case study in self-sabotage https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/07/uk-productivity...

[2] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68da5e91dadf7...

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinkley_Point_C_nuclear_power_...

[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hs2-reset

ealexhudson• 10 days ago

In what ways do you expect a candidate for MP for Clacton to address the various calamities you mention?

askvictor• 10 days ago

Same way that any candidate would I guess. It's how the Westminster system works; members advocate for their constituency within a broader parliamentary system.

Barbing2• 10 days ago

Outside the [UK’s] capital, in places where tourists do not visit, living standards fall well below Mississippi’s

That is so sad and even somewhat shocking.

kcartlidge• 8 days ago

That is so sad and even somewhat shocking.

It would be if it were a meaningful comparison, but it isn't. The comparison shouldn't be about the GDP per capita etc, but the life that gets you in the country you live - and there it fails.

gadders7• 10 days ago

I think Farage and Reform/Restore have a solution to this:

This is what happens when you import low-skilled migrants (and their extended families) who are a net drain on the economy.

I think they're also against Net Zero, which is causing all the high energy costs.

Nursie6• 10 days ago

Net Zero is not the cause of high energy costs in the UK. The cause is international al energy costs, a way of setting the benchmark price per unit against the most expensive power, and tax.

Clean, renewable power is a way out of the mess.

ectoloph• 10 days ago

Net Zero isn't what sets the price of UK electricity generation.

Marginal pricing means that gas sets the price.

At time of writing, gas is only generating 6.9% of the UK's electricity. https://grid.iamkate.com/

lmm2• 10 days ago

I don't know what specifically is wrong with the US-centric numbers you are citing, but I know they don't match the lived reality of the UK, which compares favourably with not only Mississippi but with the US as a whole.

Nursie6• 10 days ago

This election was designed to distract from investigations into Nigel Farage’s funding. The reason Binface is getting a lot of attention is because none of the major parties are standing, as a ‘fuck you’ to Farage, to make his distraction look all the more ludicrous.

So no, neither of them has a plan, but that doesn’t really matter because neither of them will be running the country after the election either. It’s a bielection for a single seat. Running the country will be down to the new Labour PM and his team. As such the rest of your post is fairly irrelevant.

testfrequency3• 10 days ago

Actual rage bait.

I don’t even have the energy to get into how cherry-picked this entire post is. Bad and inaccurate comparisons, false tourism claims, lame tropes, ignoring extreme and amazing progress while pointing at why some numbers may appear how they appear.

interstice• 10 days ago

While I haven't been to Mississippi I have spent the last 6 months driving around the UK on a working holiday, and this sounds like a massive stretch. Free healthcare might be helping.

benrutter• 10 days ago

I think you make some good points, but as a UK citizen, there probably some extra context 'd want people to know.

Firstly, the Farage/Binface byelection is a result of Farage being investigated for breaking laws designed to stop political corruption. He's called an early local election to "let the people decide". Even if voted in, if he's found accountable for those charges, he'll have to call another election. So all major parties are staying out of this one, but would likely stand in a second. Essentially what I'm saying is, this isn't a normal local election by any means so I wouldn't use it to talk generally about political parties offering to the UK.

I would also urge against using HS2/electricity-prices/Hinkley to make a " therefore the UK is in dire trou me". There all quite different: Hinkely and HS2 are certainly managed and unpopular, but they're individual projects - a lot of the UK issues are caused by much more complex, larger economic problems than government projects being mismanaged.

And then on the energy price, the UK has really expensive energy. One reason for that is because there's a huge amount of invesent in renewables right now, and the investment is paid for by the consumer. I'm not arguing this is necessarily good, but it's a political choice to prioritise more expensive electricity today, with the goal of cheaper / more secure energy tomorrow. It's a lot more complex than just "the UK is cooked because it has expensive energy".

Sorry for the minor essay! I think the UK's economic situation is serious, but also very interesting (it's possibly the most extreme global example of financialisation backfiring), complex and worth understanding!

phi0• 10 days ago

Outside the capital, in places where tourists do not visit, living standards fall well below Mississippi’s

The article appears to treat nominal GDP per capita as a measure of living standards, which is obviously nonsense. Rather than looking at things like the Human Development Index or World Happiness Report, in both of which the UK outranks the US (incl. all the non-Mississippi states).

Residents consistently reporting higher life satisfaction and happiness likely speaks more to their living standards than non-purchasing power parity adjusted GDP per capita.

It is baffling how a sentence this uninformed made it into the article.

pjc5013• 10 days ago

Why is the life expectancy for Mississippi significantly lower than the UK? https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/compare/mississippi-usa/unit...

prohobo4• 10 days ago

I don't understand why the mainstream is celebrating the total collapse of any meaningful political opposition to populists. This kind of fluffed-up 2010's style optimism campaign is exactly how the establishment lost control in 2016 in both the US and the UK.

I think it's sad that Binface is the only one even attempting to engage in democracy at this point. He's a satire but he's also, seemingly, the only legitimate opposition that populists face. That should be concerning and embarrassing, but no one has learned anything over the past 10 years.

So, what happens when Binface loses? Are they just going to try to put Farage in prison like they're doing with the other populists? That'll surely help.

And if he does somehow win, what then? Doesn't that also prove that populism is the only viable strategy? Either way people are celebrating their own defeat.

Neil44• 10 days ago

I think the strategy in leaving Farage to only face Binface is that win or loose it makes Farage look like an idiot. He wanted to get credibility back by getting re-elected after the recent scandal and this binface thing robs him of that.

johneth• 10 days ago

The other parties aren't standing in this particular byelection because they (correctly) realise that it's just a media stunt by Farage, who is attempting to paint himself as a victim of establishment harassment (while being the epitome of 'the establishment' himself). By not standing, and forcing Farage to run against joke candidates, they've made a fool of him (which generally harms populists more than anything else you can throw at them).

The other parties have all said that they will run candidates against Farage in the almost inevitable second byelection that will by triggered later when parliament finishes its investigation into his corruption and punishes him for it.

prohobo4• 10 days ago

This doesn't make a fool of Farage though! It clarifies to anyone already skeptical of the establishment that when pushed, they'd rather not play than risk losing. This is literally self-defeating!

You claim that this kind of thing "generally harms populists more than anything else," but I can't think of a single time that it actually has at the scale that matters. What would harm populists would be a viable alternative that takes the concerns of the population seriously.

0x303• 10 days ago

It's not that populists aren't facing opposition - it's that Farage resigned and said he'd be running in the by-election his resignation caused. He is using the by-election as a political stunt to try and get ahead of an incoming scandal - but by the opposition not running against him, he can't say that his mandate from the electorate is clear, and his only actual opponent is a (well spoken) bin.

Any amount of votes Binface gets is a deep embarrassment to Farage! Binface is just pointing at the farce that Farage has created, and undermining him in a particularly British way.

JsonDemWitOster3• 10 days ago

There is no opposition in this round because it is a total farce initiated by Farage. It takes two to tango and no one else (other than Count Binface) is dancing Farage's Doofus Dance.

If Farage wins, he will face the inquiry he is attempting to escape by pulling this stunt (in a summer where the WC is happening, Farage managed to score the biggest and most protracted own-goal in the history of own-goals). An effect of the inquiry is that it will trigger _another_ election in which the other parties are expected to field a candidate.

I'm not from the UK so I don't know the proper terms/political procedure but if you read up on the whole situation beyond the jokes, what I said above is a good rough outline. This is hardly the death of opposition to populists.

dofm14• 10 days ago

Specifically in this case, Farage is a celebrity populist; he is not likely to lose, and the political system (and the wider British public who oppose him) are conscious of not dancing to his tune.

He wanted this election on his own terms; he called it, to give himself a chance to bloviate and to claim that the very serious allegations against him are an establishment fit-up (when they are not).

The reality is that the outcome of those investigations has the potential to lead to another by-election (because only 10% of constituents need to sign a recall petition). Farage’s calculation is that if he triggers the by-election and wins before those investigations conclude, he can blunt the chance of a recall petition succeeding (and build some national case for Reform)

The response of the major parties to just decide not to play his game on his terms has some precedent. This is not an abdication of their responsibility, it is exercise of it.

More importantly this outcome is funny, broadly understood as a fair response, and is utterly humiliating to Farage, who is thin-skinned and easily enraged. He would have won against any candidate any party could rustle up at short notice and he knows it. He will still have his victory but nothing changes except that he is diminished.

oniony2• 10 days ago

It's not a collapse of political opposition. The political opposition are simply not allowing Farrage to dictate the narrative here.

Whilst under investigation for undeclared funding, Farrage is trying to legitimise himself by resigning and having an electorate re-elect him at the expense of the tax payer. The mainstream parties have, understandably refused to play ball, leaving him to regain his existing position uncontested.

But, and this is the bit we are celebrating, Count Binface, a satirical figure, is standing against him, ridiculing him and highlighting in the media the whole selfish situation. This is a backfire for Farrage, as it has nationally pissed on his selfish legitimisation parade.

pjc5013• 10 days ago

I think the special case of the totally unnecessary by-election is important here. I would not expect the other parties not to contest the general election. I don't like the "X is an attempt to distract from Y" framing, but this really is a distraction from the "sudden revelation" that Farage has really dodgy financing.

Also, Farage is the ultimate "establishment" candidate. He would be the same level of obscurity as Tommy Robinson or Restore if he didn't have a regular seat on BBC Question Time. All of his money comes from a small number of rich donors. He's appealing to anti-immigrant sentiment in a constituency that has hardly any immigrants.

nephihaha4• 10 days ago

Count Binface went to Oxbridge apparently, so if he gets in, he'll still be part of the establishment. Not really sure he's any wiser about working class life than Nigel Farage (being part of the Galactic aristocracy doesn't help much either.)

However, I did like his suggestions to build at least one affordable home and rename HS2, the FFS1.

fakedang2• 10 days ago

I mean better Oxbridge than being just a high-school graduate like Farage is, who got his first job as a trader thanks to daddy's connections in the City.

nephihaha4• 9 days ago

Entry to Oxford and Cambridge Universities is by interview, which is the part people forget. Yes, some bright people do go there, but they take a disproportionate amount of private school children. I wouldn't be surprised if Binface went to boarding school like Farage did.

Oxbridge is as much a part of the establishment as Eton and Westminster School. Very few people go to these places yet they are overrepresented in the political classes.

gpderetta3• 9 days ago

damage control in full swing already?

nephihaha4• 9 days ago

I'm not exactly a Farage supporter. LOL. Never voted UKIP or Reform, but did vote remain. But yeah, Count Binface wouldn't exactly survive five minutes on a council estate.

So Dulwich boy vs Oxbridge Boy.

For Americans...One went to an exclusive private high school and the other went to an exclusive university.

Binface is fond of quoting Latin phrases which puts him into Boris Johnson territory, and is a posh boy's trait.

squidbeak3• 10 days ago

I see from the comments here many Americans especially are confused by this situation. Some background might make help.

Farage seems to have broken Parliamentary Rules (laid down after the cash for questions scandal in the 1990s) by accepting large sums of money as gifts - but without declaring them, something all MPs are required to do for any gift. But worse, one of these gifts came from a convicted crypto felon.

The Parliamentary standards committee seemed likely to suspend him or order a recall by-election as a result.

Nigel's aim in preempting this near-inevitability was apparently to use the media spotlight the by-election would give him to dominate the summer headlines and present himself as a man-of-the-peeps martyr-rebel under mean & outrageous establishment persecution (rather than just the rich little chancer he is, on the make, with the murkiest of murky connections). If he could hammer this impression into the public imagination, they'd then be deaf to any subsequent findings from the Parliamentary Standards Committee.

In other words he thought this little manoeuvre could turn a damaging problem and weakness into a strength. Unfortunately for Nige, the other parties understood this, & instead have left him to play all summer long with the jokers and silly parties, looking like a laughingstock.

So as you see, there's nothing anti-democratic about it. If he wins, he will still face the suspension and recall election that was coming anyway. But as part of procedure - not on the terms he's trying to set with this little stunt.

gib4444• 9 days ago

And we know what you all are thinking: only £5m, how pathetic.

I get you. Farage is still learning, on his frequent visits to the US. Give him time.

We definitely are the weaker and more pathetic side of the Atlantic when it comes to corruption in our politics at the moment. We do bow to your superiority in this area.

pjc5013• 9 days ago

The inability to do broadcast TV political adverts (outside of the PPB framework) really cuts down on the money involved in UK politics. But one effect of that (and purchasing power parity) is that UK MPs are really cheap to bribe.

anonymousiam2• 9 days ago

The other parties are terrified that the immense popularity of Farage will land him the role of PM, so they're creatively interpreting their Parliamentary Rules to accuse Farage of violating them, which he has not done. It's the same sort of lawfare that Trump and Le Pen have been a victim of. Override the will of the people by finding an excuse to oust a popular politician that they see as a serious threat to their power. So much for democracy...

Why is it not a violation of Parliamentary Rules to conspire to create a false candidate in an election?

triceratops• 9 days ago

Weird that there have been "immensely popular" politicians before but they didn't have "lawfare" deployed against them on this scale.

Also if these people are genuinely breaking the law, how would it go any differently?

olelele• 9 days ago

The fact that Roger Stone & Trump haven’t faced consequences for jan 6 still amazes me. Edit: spelling

squidbeak3• 9 days ago

so they're creatively interpreting their Parliamentary Rules to accuse Farage of violating them

You seem deeply ignorant about the rules UK politicians are bound by. The Parliamentary Standards investigation doesn't need any creativity in interpreting a failure to declare a £5m gift as a breach of parliamentary rules.

On the broader point, popularity doesn't exempt politicians from the rules that apply to every MP. Not that Farage is popular, he's -27 in the latest poll.

pjc5013• 9 days ago

The facts of the £5m are not entirely clear, but he's trying to pre-empt the actual investigation which if he wasn't guilty might clear him.

Either way, there is no way to become PM without (approx) three hundred MPs. There's plenty of time before the true next election (not this by-election which Farage has forced) for him to attempt to stand candidates in and win that many seats.

conspire to create a false candidate in an election

Binface is not a false candidate. He's complied with the rules just like everyone else.

ndsipa_pomu3• 9 days ago

Why is it not a violation of Parliamentary Rules to conspire to create a false candidate in an election?

That doesn't make much sense as who is to decide whether a candidate is "false" and what does that mean? Farage could easily be described as a false candidate as he barely does anything for Clacton and doesn't hold his MP surgery which is usually part of representing an area.

Also, who do you think is conspiring in this case? Binface has been around for a while and is pretty much a one-man band. If anything, Reform UK Ltd conspires to get their candidates elected (as do other political parties).

anonymousiam2• 9 days ago

After the UK government cut their security funding for Farage, they penalize him because a caring well to do friend gifted him some money. Now they're briefing him on the increased risk of harm that he faces from deranged people who are reacting to the negative press they've generated.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2026/07/13/farage-offered-secur...

rich_sasha• 9 days ago

You can add to this that the other parties running against Farage don't really have an upside. Reform is leading the polls somehow and he's quite likely to win - which would give him an argument to say "the voters have decided, the whole thing about the finance rules is a witch-hunt". And frankly even if he loses, he can cry foul play about how he was hounded out.

What should happen is the investigation to run its course. The whole resignation is just an attempt to divert attention from it.

Amusingly, I find it more likely Farage would lose to Count Binface than to the mainstream candidates. To win, you need merely the most votes, not more than 50%. If the "not Farage" vote gets split between Labour, Greens, Lib Dems and Conservatives, he might eke out a win. But if anyone who doesn't like Farage just needs to vote Count Binface, it might actually happen.

glaucon4• 5 days ago

|suspend him or order a recall by-election as a result.

I believe that while the Parliamentary Standards Committee can order a suspension, the prospect of a recall election is not due to the committee ordering it but rather sufficient electors in the Member's constituency petitioning for it.

The recall election only becomes a possibility if any suspension is greater than ten days in length.

zombot• 10 days ago

He doesn't happen to have an American twin? Would be urgently needed.

RattlesnakeJake• 9 days ago

As an American, I'm mildly jealous of the Brits' usage of "bin" for garbage cans. It's so succinct as to be appropriately dismissive, while we seemingly sanctify the idea with complex terms like "Wastebasket," "Trash/Garbage Can," or (worst of all) "Trash Receptacle."

"Binface" wouldn't be nearly as funny using an American term.

oniony2• 9 days ago

We use bin to mean any largish container, so shops have clothes bins, factories have parts bins, &c.

Bin is also short for rubbish bin (the smaller ones in the home) or dustbin (the larger ones outside).

Weirdly we rarely use either of garbage or trash. Even the lorries we call refuse trucks.

josefritzishere• 9 days ago

I would vote for a trashbin before Farage.

sporkland• 9 days ago

While I appreciate how deservedly hated all of our politicians are, isn't it such a sad state of affairs that we can't find trustworthy folks to lead these critical institutions?

QuiEgo• 9 days ago

It’s nice to have a story that makes me laugh and smile about politics. It’s been a long, long time.

tim3332• 9 days ago

Binface certainly differs with Farage on the virtues of Brexit. Here he is at the Oxford Union https://youtu.be/0Vlew9R2s2A?t=66

keeda• 9 days ago

Glad to see he's recovered from his little flesh wound.

Count Binface

Related Stories