Why is this on the front page of hacker news?
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Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
11–20 of 34 posts
Re: Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
#12Why is this on the front page of hacker news?
I dunno if Hacker News encompasses hacker culture, but I’d say novelty candidates are absolutely hacker culture.
Re: Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
#13Why is this on the front page of hacker news?
Because the world has hacks outside of tech and a life outside tech. Most of the interesting articles on HN are things like today's lost city in egypt, not oh look lols my llm performs well.
Re: Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same reason as always. Someone found it interesting and submitted it. Others found it interesting and up voted it within a period of time.
I'm amused that hacker news crowd finds this front page worthy.
Why is it atypical? It’s a joke candidate running against a populist right wing politician with some real support. It’s exactly the kind of societal commentary this community finds interesting
Re: Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
#15Why is this on the front page of hacker news?
I dunno if Hacker News encompasses hacker culture, but I’d say novelty candidates are absolutely hacker culture.
Because the mainstream parties have refused to stand candidates in opposition to Farage, stating "it's a stunt" there is some feeling Binface will not only get his deposit back, if the protest vote is strong enough...
Farage is very popular in Clacton. It's an older, reactionary community but british elections are First-Past-The-Post and normally have a low turn out so if enough old people died after the last election and enough younger people come out to vote, it is possible although I personally think unlikely, Binface will win.
Regrettably, for purists, and those who want Binface to win, other novelty candidates are now standing. The man dressed as a fox, and the monster raving loony party. Both appear to be somewhat petulant, MRLP is unhappy Binface has taken their spot in novelty candidature, and there are rumours MRLP and Mr Fox are being funded by right wing parties opposed to Farage. British Politics are very strange.
If the UK had proportional/transferrable votes, these alternate candidates would ultimately send votes to Binface in all likelihood. But, thats not how it works in British Parliamentary elections and by-elections. Forms of complex vote are used for the regional devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Andy Burnham (the future Labour prime minister from Manchester replacing Sir Keir Starmer) has previously indicated support for ending FPTP but people often say this before achieving power, and then fail to make it happen in power. Should he carry out another proposed idea of "a Parliament for England" based in the north, then it is likely as for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland it would not use FPTP.
Re: Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
#16Re: Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
I dunno if Hacker News encompasses hacker culture, but I’d say novelty candidates are absolutely hacker culture.
Because the mainstream parties have refused to stand candidates in opposition to Farage, stating "it's a stunt" there is some feeling Binface will not only get his deposit back, if the protest vote is strong enough... Farage is very popular in Clacton. It's an older, reactionary community but british elections are First-Past-The-Post and normally have a low turn out so if enough old people died after the last electio…
Didn't they hold a referendum on an alternative voting system and it failed? I'd moved away by that time, but I seem to remember they basically chose a bad and confusing system to make sure it didn't pass.
MMP seems to work very well where I currently reside and it wouldn't be too confusing to add it to the British system, basically adding a party vote alongside the local MP vote and then taking MPs from the party lists to make it proportional.
Re: Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm amused that hacker news crowd finds this front page worthy.
Why is it atypical? It’s a joke candidate running against a populist right wing politician with some real support. It’s exactly the kind of societal commentary this community finds interesting
What's most interesting is that the "joke" candidate was put forth by the other parties, because they know they cannot win a fair election against Farage in his district. They're hoping for another "Boaty McBoatface" outcome here, but their strategy will fail.
Re: Count Binface, Nigel Farage's space-warrior foe
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why is it atypical? It’s a joke candidate running against a populist right wing politician with some real support. It’s exactly the kind of societal commentary this community finds interesting
What's most interesting is that the "joke" candidate was put forth by the other parties, because they know they cannot win a fair election against Farage in his district. They're hoping for another "Boaty McBoatface" outcome here, but their strategy will fail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaty_McBoatface
what are you on? Farage resigned their seat because they got 5 million they didn't declare and wished to avoid parliamentary procedure, instead saying "the voters should decide", and the other parties knew it was only a PR stunt so declined to take place, because there will be a by-election (yet another £200,000) that will happen anyway once the undeclared gift gets him booted.