Count Binface

Count Binface
Count Binface at the Glee Club, Birmingham, in 2024
First appearance	12 December 2018[1]
Portrayed by	Jonathan David Harvey (since 2018)
In-universe information
Species	Recyclon
Gender	Male
Occupation	Leader of the Recyclons
Origin	Sigma IX

Count Binface is a satirical novelty candidate created by the British comedian Jonathan David Harvey[2] in 2018.[3] He stood as a candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the 2019 United Kingdom general election against the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, and again at the 2023 by-election that followed Johnson's resignation. He also stood in the London Mayoral elections in 2021 and 2024.[4] In the 2024 general election Binface stood against the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency.

In earlier elections, Harvey stood as Lord Buckethead,[5] 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.[6][7] Since then Harvey has used the platform of Binface to promote electoral participation, with the slogan, "Make Your Vote Count".

Originally standing as an independent, since 2023 his affiliation has been given as Count Binface Party on ballot papers.[8]

Character

Count Binface is an "independent space warrior"[9] in a black and grey uniform, with a long silver cape and a helmet shaped somewhat like a dustbin with a glowing strip where his eyes would be. He describes himself as the leader of the Recyclons from the planet Sigma IX,[10] and claims to be over 5,900 years old.[11]

2019 general election policies

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

• Bringing back Ceefax, the teletext service.[9] He had previously promised to bring back the service in 2017 as Lord Buckethead.[12]
• Returning 20,001 police officers to the street, a reference to the Conservative pledge of 20,000 more police officers.[13]
• Nationalising model railways.[14]
• Holding a referendum on holding a second referendum on the United Kingdom's membership in the European Union.[14]
• Allowing any Czechs on the Irish border to remain,[14] a reference to the Brexit and the Irish border controversy.
• Nationalising Adele, the English singer.[15]
• Abolishing the House of Lords.[15] He had previously pledged the same in 2017 as Lord Buckethead.[16]
• Giving free broadband to everyone.[15]
• Stopping the sale of arms to repressive regimes.[15]
• Making Piers Morgan zero emissions by 2030.[15]
• Renaming London Bridge to "Phoebe Waller-Bridge".[15]
• Introducing a minimum voting age of 16 and a maximum of 80.[15]
• Sending £1 trillion a week to the NHS.[14]
• Proroguing Jacob Rees-Mogg.[14]
• Banishing Katie Hopkins to the Phantom Zone.[14]
• Moving the hand dryer in the men's toilet at Uxbridge's Crown and Treaty pub to a "more sensible position".[14]

In 2019, another individual contested the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat as Lord 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".[17]

2021 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:

• Finish Crossrail.[18]
• Free parking for electric vehicles between Vine Street and the Strand,[18] in reference to where the Free Parking space is located on the British Monopoly game board.
• London to join the European Union.[18]
• Renaming London Bridge to "Phoebe Waller-Bridge" and Hammersmith Bridge to "Wayne Bridge".[18]
• All government ministers' pay, including that of the mayors, should be tied to that of nurses for the next 100 years.[19]
• Loud snacks to be banned from theatres.[20]
• The use of the speakerphone function on mobile phones to be banned in public. Any offenders caught will be forced to watch the film version of Cats every day for a year.[21]

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 the charity Shelter to help combat homelessness.[18] He finished ninth with 24,775 votes in the mayoral election.[22]

2024 London mayoral election

In March 2024, Binface started another fundraiser to allow him to stand in the next London mayoral election, which was held on 2 May 2024. Any funds raised in excess of the necessary £10,000 would again be donated to charity.[23] After gaining the required amount, he announced his entry into the race[4] and released his manifesto,[24] which re-used many policies from previous years but added a few new ones.

The Binface manifesto called for the abolition of VAR[25] (presumably in football matches) and promised to force Thames Water managers to "take a dip in the Thames... see how they like it", in reference to the recent sewage discharge controversy; also to "build at least one affordable house", referring to the housing crisis in London.[26]

He finished in 11th place with 24,260 votes, notably, ahead of Britain First, despite the election's change to a First Past the Post voting system. [27] Incumbent mayor and election winner Sadiq Khan in a victory speech remarked about celebrating "becoming the first person in British political history to win successive victories over Count Binface".[28] He added that Binface finishing ahead of the far-right Britain First candidate was "another reason to love London".[29]

2024 general election

On 7 June 2024, Binface announced his intention to stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election, contesting the Richmond and Northallerton constituency against the then prime minister, Rishi Sunak. Binface said that he was "taking on the biggest fish of the lot" in the election and commented; "You shirked D-Day Rishi, you can't miss the B-Day", a reference to the controversy caused by Sunak's early departure from the ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.[30] Amongst new policies announced in Binface's manifesto was a "space bridge" to solve the traffic problems caused by Northallerton's level crossings and reducing the price of 99 Flake ice creams to 99 pence.[31] He also proposed National Service for former prime ministers and inviting European nations to join the United Kingdom.[32]

Binface enlisted the mathematician and YouTuber Matt Parker to create charts for his free election pamphlet and to act as an election observer on behalf of the Count Binface Party.[33] The Daily Star endorsed both Binface and the Labour Party.[34]

Binface finished sixth of thirteen candidates with 308 votes, representing 0.6% of all the votes cast.[35] He commented on Twitter that it was his best placing and highest ever vote count in a national election and declared that "Bindependence Day has come".[32]

Electoral history

General election 2019: Uxbridge and South Ruislip[36]

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			1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
			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[37][38]

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[a]	208	0.7	New
	Count Binface	Count Binface	190	0.6	+0.5
	Independent	No-Ulez Leo Phaure[a]	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[b]	8	0.0	New
Majority			495	1.6	−13.4
Turnout			31,000	46.23	17.3
Registered electors
	Conservative hold		Swing	−6.7

2024 London mayoral election[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sadiq Khan	1,088,225	43.8
	Conservative	Susan Hall	812,397	32.7
	Liberal Democrats	Rob Blackie	145,184	5.8
	Green	Zoë Garbett	145,114	5.8
	Reform UK	Howard Cox	78,865	3.2
	Independent	Natalie Campbell	47,815	1.9
	SDP	Amy Gallagher	34,449	1.4
	Animal Welfare	Femy Amin	29,280	1.2
	Independent	Andreas Michli	26,121	1.1
	Independent	Tarun Ghulati	24,702	1.0
	Count Binface	Count Binface	24,260	1.0
	Britain First	Nick Scanlon	20,519	0.8
	London Real	Brian Rose	7,501	0.3
Majority			275,828	11.1
Turnout			2,484,432	40.50	1.5
Registered electors			6,162,428
	Labour hold

General election 2024: Richmond and Northallerton[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rishi Sunak	23,059	47.5	−15.8
	Labour	Tom Wilson	10,874	22.4	6.0
	Reform UK	Lee Taylor	7,142	14.7	New
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Callaghan	4,322	8.9	−3.6
	Green	Kevin Foster	2,058	4.2	0.4
	Count Binface Party	Count Binface	308	0.6	New
	Independent	Brian Richmond	222	0.5	New
	Independent	Niko Omilana	160	0.3	New
	Yorkshire	Rio Goldhammer	132	0.3	−1.8
	Monster Raving Loony	Sir Archibald Stanton	99	0.2	New
	Workers Party	Louise Dickens	90	0.2	New
	Independent	Angie Campion	33	0.1	New
	Independent	Jason Barnett	27	0.1	New
Majority			12,185
Turnout			73,888	66	−5.6

Notes

1. Names "Anti-Ulez"[39] and "No-Ulez"[40] 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.[41]

Books

• Binface, Count (2022). What On Earth?: An alien's guide to fixing Britain. London: Quercus Editions Ltd. ISBN 978-1529421651.

See also

• List of frivolous political parties
• Perennial candidate
• Vermin Supreme, an American satirical candidate.

References

1. "Former Lord Buckethead takes aim at rival candidate who took his name as he bids to unseat Boris Johnson". Independent.co.uk. 15 November 2019.
2. "New MPs elected at July by-elections". parliament.uk. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
3. 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.
4. "Count Binface (@[e-mail])". Mastodon. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
5. Count Binface (12 March 2021). Hip To Be Mayor!. Retrieved 12 July 2024 – via YouTube.
6. 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.'
7. "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'
8. "Count Binface". whocanivotefor.co.uk. Democracy Club Community Interest Company. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
9. 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.
10. Graham, Freya (1 May 2024). "London mayoral election: Who is 'intergalactic space warrior' Count Binface?". Metro. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
11. "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.
12. 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.
13. "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.
14. "MANIFESTO!". www.countbinface.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. "Count Binface Runs for Mayor of London". YouTube. Count Binface. 27 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
19. "London 2021 Manifesto". Count Binface. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
20. "Here is my full manifesto for London. Can any other candidate beat this? No chance! #VoteBinface #MakeYourVoteCount". Twitter. @CountBinface. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
21. "Count Binface meets Owen Jones". Youtube. Owen Jones. 29 April 2021.
22. "Results 2021". London Elects. 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
23. "It's time to take out the trash and teach the Tories a lesson they'll never forget. Help me raise the £10k to get on the London Mayoral ballot, and watch me beat Susan Hall! Every extra penny raised goes to charity. Join me here!
    #Budget2024". Twitter. @CountBinface. 6 March 2024.
24. "Count Binface (@[e-mail])". Mastodon. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
25. "Count Binface (@[e-mail])". Mastodon. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
26. Keane, Daniel (8 April 2024). "Count Binface unveils manifesto for London Mayoral election including Thames Water pledge". www.standard.co.uk. Evening Standard Limited. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
27. "London Mayor Election 2024 Candidates and Results". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
28. "Sadiq Khan celebrates 'successive victories over Count Binface'". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
29. "Sadiq Khan salutes Count Binface for beating Britain First candidate in London mayoral election". news.sky.com. Sky UK. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
30. Abruzzese, Phoebe (7 June 2024). "Count Binface to stand against Rishi Sunak in Richmond". www.thenorthernecho.co.uk. The Northern Echo / Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
31. Nichol, Joshua (17 June 2024). "Count Binface launches Richmond and Northallerton manifesto". www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
32. Cotrell, Hannah (5 July 2024). "How Count Binface, Captain Beany, Elmo and other quirky candidates did in the election". www.independent.co.uk. Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
33. Parker, Matt (3 July 2024). "UK Election charts are a nightmare". www.youtube.com. Stand-up Maths. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
34. Dominic Ponsford; Charlotte Tobitt; Bron Maher (4 July 2024). "General election 2024 endorsements: Most of Fleet Street votes Labour". Press Gazette. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
35. "Richmond and Northallerton results – General election 2024". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
36. "Uxbridge & Ruislip South parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
37. Rufo, Yasmin (23 June 2023). "Uxbridge by-election full candidate list revealed". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
38. "Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election 2023 results". Hillingdon Council. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
39. "Candidate Kingsley Hamilton". Getty Images. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
40. "Candidate Leo Phaure". Getty Images. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
41. "Joseph77". Joseph77. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
42. "London Mayor election results". BBC News. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
43. "Richmond and Northallerton results". BBC. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Count Binface on Twitter