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Count Binface

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Re: Count Binface

#251

Post by Macha »

dofm wrote: post #215
zwischenzug wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Farage wins he is still subject to an investigation that could eject him from Parliament, over a 5m crypto gift/loan he received from an ex-pat donor that he did not declare. Farage is looking to get a popular mandate to try and both draw attention away from that investigation, and justify keeping his position because "the people have spoken". The other parties don't want to undermine the investigation by taking p…

> If Farage wins he is still subject to an investigation that could eject him from Parliament He will win, of course. But Parliament can't actually eject him. All they can do is enable the one mechanism that could: a constituency recall petition that needs 10% of his electorate to sign it, that triggers… a by-election he could lose. If he runs and his constituency vote for him in that, he's their MP.

That is true, but while he is popular in his home turf, 10% is a low threshold for a figure as divisive as Farage, so seems pretty much inevitable, unless this pre-investigation-results by election kills the motivation.

Now would he win the second by election even with a finding of misconduct against him? He might very well. But the establishment parties (especially the Tories) will feel much better placed to challenge him if they have him being found to have conducted in dodgy behaviour.

Re: Count Binface

#252

Post by crote »

ra wrote: post #77

The Ipsos poll cited in the first image was a survey of 1,000 uk citizens 18+. It wasn't a poll of 1,000 people in Clacton. It's meaningless and I'm surprised they used it.

It isn't meaningless, it gives a (very) rough estimate of how the general population feels about it. Coming in third in a two-person poll is... quite rough.

You also have to keep in mind that it isn't about Clacton. It is a city of no importance. Farage chose to run there in 2024 because he expected it'd be a slam-dunk for him - and it was. He does literally nothing for the people of Clacton, it is just his entry into the House.

On the other hand, Farage is trying to establish himself as the major right-wing option. If he wants to become Prime Minister he'll need to have nationwide support - and the Ipsos poll is a pretty decent indication of how the nation feels about Farage right now.

Re: Count Binface

#253

Post by gpderetta »

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?

that's all right, Lord Buckethead has now officially endorsed Count Binface for the by-election: https://xcancel.com/DavidHughesTwit/status/20759264658461409...

Re: Count Binface

#254

Post by Cthulhu_ »

flir wrote: post #89
madaxe_again wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t it the democratic ideal though? Of the people, for the people. If a representative democracy is to truly be representative then the elected representatives should be… representative? Tuberville and Mullin I wouldn’t say were thick so much as they’re pretty average.

Nah, you elect the person who best represents your interests, not the person who best represents you . Look on it as a hiring process. Don't you want to select someone competent?

The challenge is that politics is its own profession, just like management. Even though there are people that have the theoretical knowledge on how a country should be run / what policies would work best, working it out into something legalese or balancing the books is where politicians come in. In theory.

Re: Count Binface

#255

Post by foldr »

gadders wrote: post #217
stingraycharles wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I find interesting is that he seems to be the only candidate? Aren’t there actual political parties that could have produced legitimate candidates?

[flagged]

Investigating Farage for failing to declare donations and gifts is neither “lawfare” nor a plausible means of removing him as an MP. It’s just the Parliamentary Standards Comittee doing its job. No legal penalty is on the cards. The worst the committee can do (and they might not even do it) is make him fight another by election, at which point the decision as to whether or not he remains an MP is entirely up to voters in his constituency. Odds are that Farage would win again, so if this is all part of a grand scheme to oust him, it’s a pretty stupid scheme.

Currently, the person working hardest to ensure that Farage ceases to be an MP is Farage himself, having made the strategic error of trying to pre-empt what he presumes to be the eventual outcome of the committee investigation by calling this farcical by election.

Re: Count Binface

#256

Post by Cthulhu_ »

gib444 wrote: post #219
zwischenzug wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Parliament, members are referred to by the place they represent, eg "The Right Honourable Member for Harry Pottershire" rather than their names. It's a way to make things less personal. In fact, "naming" an MP is mark of having broken the rules: https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/naming-o...

I like it as a reminder that they're there to represent their constituents, and it means lesser known places are regularly mentioned in parliament (what with it being in London)

The indirect debate strategy has always baffled me (people addressing the speaker instead of the person across the aisle), but it's a really interesting way to frame a debate and to - theoretically - avoid ad hominems. Of course in UK politics they can still say stuff like "Mr. Speaker, I believe the right honourable lord of whatsit is being rather silly".

Re: Count Binface

#257

Post by Cthulhu_ »

TomK32 wrote: post #111
ayaros wrote: post #87

I have so many questions... I wonder how the legalities of this work. If people write in "Count Binface" or if that's the name on the ballot, then if he wins, does that mean Jonathan David Harvey (the actual name of the guy who plays him) is elected? Does Count Binface count as an alias? If not, he required to use that name while in office - or more precisely, is he not considered a member if he goes by his own name?…

> If he goes into the parliament building without his costume If the people vote for a man in a bin costume then he should have the right to represent them in that very same costume. On the other hand, to satisfy both his desire for a costumes as well as parliament's rules that basically allow its members to look at each other eye to eye, he might switch to a transparent bin. Something that would benefit the whole co…

Can't take out the (political) trash without first exposing it. The transparent bin is a great analogy lmao

Re: Count Binface

#258

Post by foldr »

gadders wrote: post #193
defrost wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Farage said the funds are required for his personal security Nope. If he had declared that then there would be no issue what so ever. There is no restriction on gifted money, no requirement on what to use it for - simply a common code of conduct that requires gifts to be declared . Farage could of declared it, but didn't - now he has been outed with his hand in cookie jar in a dark closet he's retconning a reason h…

"The Exemption Rule: Parliamentary ethics rules generally require MPs to register financial interests and "personal benefits" received in the 12 months before taking office. However, Farage and Reform UK have leaned on the exemption for strictly personal gifts "which could not reasonably be thought by others to be related to membership of the House" or his political activities" Personal security would come under that…

He can make that case to the investigating committee. If Farage finds that inconvenient then, well, the easiest way for him to avoid such scrutiny in future is to declare any large amounts of money he receives. Not that difficult, and surely in the public interest to do so.

The standards committee has not yet made any ruling. It would be one thing for Farage to object to a specific ruling by the committee, but to object to the entire concept of a large undeclared personal gift being investigated simply shows a contempt for Parliament.

Re: Count Binface

#259

Post by Cthulhu_ »

GeoAtreides wrote: post #220
thih9 wrote: post #41

Novelty candidates sometimes get elected, e.g. Stuart Drummond. > Drummond immediately decided to concentrate on politics and ceased being H'Angus; he was quoted as saying, "I am Stuart Drummond, I am the Mayor of Hartlepool, not the monkey." Drummond was re-elected in 2005, more than doubling his vote (up to over 16,000) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H'Angus

Not only do they get elected, sometimes they become heroes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy

Don't think they intended to be a novelty or parody candidate though. Just someone famous for something else turning to politics, just like Schwarzenegger.
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