Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Count Binface

countbinface.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 317 posts

Re: Count Binface

#121

Post by dofm »

unfitted2545 wrote: post #46
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #9

"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 t…

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

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.

Re: Count Binface

#122

Post by hghid »

danaris wrote: post #79
stavros wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

OK, buckle up. Nigel Farage is basically like the UK's Trump: he was the head of the UKIP party, which championed Brexit, and then became the dog that caught the car when Brexit actually happened. Since then, the Reform UK party has taken up the position of far-right-practically-Nazis in UK politics, and Farage is the head of that. Farage is also an MP (Member of Parliament) for Clacton. Recently, he was embroiled in…

It is a disaster for Farage. He looks like ridiculous with almost every outcome. Last by-election he (Reform UK) won with about 45% of the vote. This is a big win in UK elections as there are typically about 4 parties with a decent number of votes - MPs often win with a lot lower figure than that. This was in the context of a General Election with huge publicity and was probably at the peak of Reform's popularity (they have slipped a fair way since then). Even then, almost 55% of the people didn't vote for him. That leaves a huge number of voters swilling around with nobody to vote for. Maybe they won't bother voting, but on the other hand, maybe they will. Recent elections have shown a lot of tactical voting (i.e. people voting for the party most likely to beat an unwanted candidate) - if people are motivated enough to do that, then they may well be motivated enough to vote for a Bin. There's a lot of publicity and the election is taking place August when all sorts of random things can happen (it's referred to as the Silly Season because there's a typically a bit of a new vacuum). That said, Farage will probably win, but unless he wins by an absolutely overwhelming marging (i.e. Binface only gets a few hundred votes) he is hugely diminished.

That's also before you consider who Binface actually is - he graduated in Classics from Oxford University, has been a script writer for the Thick of It and Have I got News for You (both popular political satires) and has a Podcast that gets some big names on it. Every interview he does, he comes across as extremely smart, sharp and articulate. If there is ever a face-to-face discussion between him and Farage, it will generate endless clips of Farage's humiliation.

Policital affiliation aside, it is good to see somebody arogant and entitled brought down to size.

Re: Count Binface

#123

Post by ealexhudson »

logifail wrote: post #119

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…

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

Re: Count Binface

#124

Post by Barbing »

logifail wrote: post #119

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…

>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.

Re: Count Binface

#125

Post by gadders »

logifail wrote: post #119

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…

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

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"

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.

Re: Count Binface

#126

Post by swiftcoder »

onion2k wrote: post #75
hdgvhicv wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be prime minister you have to have support of 50%+1 of the MPs. This means either having them in your party, or having a deal with another party. You also have to be an MP. Currently Kier Starmer is a Labour mp in an area of London. He’s resigning and is being replaced by someone (Burnham) who was Labour Mayor for Manchester, but stood as MP in an area of Manchester last month after another Labour MP resigned. Bur…

You also have to be an MP. I don't think that's strictly true. You definitely don't have to be an MP in order to hold a cabinet office. I think that extends to the PM as well. It's never been tried obviously.

It's not strictly law, but at this point it might as well be. The last PM to be appointed without being an MP was Sir Alec Douglas-Home in the 1960s, and he immediately resigned his peerage and won a by-election to remedy that...

Re: Count Binface

#127

Post by frakrx »

athrowaway3z wrote: post #71
frakrx wrote: post #59

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

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.

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.

Re: Count Binface

#128

Post by lmm »

zeumo wrote: post #120
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #9

"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 t…

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?

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

Re: Count Binface

#129

Post by wizzwizz4 »

lambdaone wrote: post #116
wizzwizz4 wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

His birth name, and I believe still his legal name, is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. But he is "commonly known as" Boris Johnson, so that's what can go on the ballot paper, although his full name must still go on the registration documents. Count Binface is in the same situation.

Since he gave up his US citizenship in 2016, I don't think he's subject to a jurisdiction where "legal name" is a meaningful notion. Ultimately, this means his first name is whatever he says it is (provided that he isn't lying): you'd have to ask him. Supposing that his answer changes depending on the social context, then both "Alexander" and "Boris" would be valid answers for "what is this person's first name?".

Count Binface is in a different situation, because "Count Binface" is a stage name, which he (presumably) doesn't go as in his real life. However, stage names are still considered legal enough to go on your UK passport. Ultimately, whether he would be allowed to write "Count Binface" as his name on the registration documents would depend on what the Electoral Commission decides. I had a look last week, but couldn't find their rules.

Re: Count Binface

#130

Post by lambdaone »

jayflux wrote: post #96
VBprogrammer wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

It's the 10% chance they are worried about. Reform is very much the Farage party, and him losing to a bin in their heartland would be catastrophic; he would go from being the presumptive next Prime Minister to a national joke.

Binface, ridiculous though it may seem, is going to be the unity candidate for tactical voting, and that's deadly serious from the point of view of those who wish to get Farage out.

Even if Farage wins, but with a reduced majority, in an election where the alternatives are fringe or novelty candidates, it will be hard for his dignity to recover.

Post reply on HN