The Monster Raving Loony Party has hinted it could join forces with Count Binface – as it bids to make politics “more sensible”. The quirky group is standing three wannabe MPs in today’s Clacton by-election, triggered after Nigel Farage quit amid a row over his finances.
Party leader Howling Laud Hope is among them – one of an incredible 34 hopefuls standing in the Essex town, despite the mainstream parties refusing to field candidates.
His main rivals – aside from the Reform UK leader – include intergalactic warrior Binface and Billie Piper’s ex Laurence Fox. But he was quick to hit back at claims the seaside spectacle is “making a mockery of politics”.
He said: “Politics already is silly. We’re not making it silly, we’re making it more sensible. We’re the only political party that’s on everybody’s side.”
Laud Hope added that he currently has no plans to form a coalition, but he didn’t completely rule out teaming up with Binface, noting: “If it ever did happen, it would be the Loony Bin.”
The polls close in Clacton at 10pm on Thursday, with results expected in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
What is the Monster Raving Loony Party?
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party was founded in in 1982 by the “Howling Laud” and musician Screaming Lord Sutch.
It uses satire, bizarre manifestos, and novelty candidates to mock the British political system and offer an outlet for protest voters.
The party first appeared on a parliamentary ballot in the 1983 Bermondsey by-election and later that year when Sutch ran against Margaret Thatcher in Finchley.
Despite the party’s mission to never be too popular, a handful of its policies have become law.
In 2000, the government introduced passports for pets – a long-standing policy of the Monster Raving Loony Party.
Throughout the 1980s, the party campaigned for pubs to remain open during the day, rather than shutting in the afternoons – and this came into force in 2005.
And since its first manifesto in 1983 (or manicfesto as it calls its list of promises) the party has called for the reduction of the voting age to 16.