The serial candidates standing against Farage in Clacton

Here is a summary of key candidates from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and their election histories:

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### Howling Laud Hope
– **Real name:** Alan Hope
– **Elections contested:** 37 parliamentary elections since 1983
– **Notable contests:** Challenged David Cameron in 2010 and Theresa May in 2017
– **Best result:** 2011 Leicester South by-election – 553 votes (1.6%), finished last of 5
– **Deposit returns:** Never regained deposit (£500 each time)
– **Deposits lost:** 37

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### Nick the Incredible Flying Brick
– **Real name:** Nick Delves
– **Elections contested:** 13 parliamentary contests
– **Notable contests:** Stood against Sir Keir Starmer in 2024 general election
– **Best result:** 2001 West Derbyshire general election – 472 votes (0.9%), finished 5th of 6
– **Deposit returns:** None
– **Deposits lost:** 13

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### Joseph 77
– **Real name:** Tom Darwood
– **Elections contested:** 7 parliamentary elections
– **Best result:** 2019 Southend West general election – 574 votes (1.2%)
– **Deposit returns:** None
– **Deposits lost:** 7

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### Count Binface
– **Real name:** Jon Harvey (comedian)
– **Elections contested:** 4 parliamentary and 2 London mayoral elections
– **Notable races:** Ran as Lord Buckethead against Theresa May in 2017; stood against Boris Johnson (2019) and Rishi Sunak (2024) as Count Binface
– **Best result:** 2024 Richmond and Northallerton general election – 308 votes (0.6%), finished 6th of 13
– **Deposit returns:** None
– **Deposits lost:** 6

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### Additional notes from the data:
– All these candidates have consistently failed to win enough votes to recover their deposits.
– Vote shares generally remain below 2%, often below 1%, with occasional peaks such as Hope’s 1.6% in 2011 and Joseph 77’s 1.2% in 2019.
– Some other satirical or small party candidates such as John Stevens and Laurence Fox have occasionally achieved higher shares (John Stevens notably 21.4% in 2010 under special circumstances).

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If you want details about other candidates or more election specifics, feel free to ask!

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More