For each general election the United Kingdom holds, there are a handful of novelty candidates who often succeed in blurring the lines between politics and satire. Among the more than 4,500 candidates standing for parliament on Thursday are those from fringe parties, single-issue campaigners, and, in a peculiarly British tradition, those who are simply making fun of the whole thing. The crop of eccentrics running for government in includes an AI chatbot, a London pub, and an intergalactic space lord.
The tradition took off in the 1980s, when the Official Monster Raving Loony Party — with the motto "Vote for Insanity" — registered as a political party and fielded two candidates. All a candidate needs to stand to become a member of parliament is a £500 ($950) deposit and 10 supporting signatures. "There's aspects of this that have to do with the UK sense of humour and our traditions of satire and mockery," Andrew Blick, a politics professor at King's College London, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
But he said politics may have become "in some senses more ridiculous" in recent years, making it "ripe for satire". "I think they do have some value: they attract attention to the system. Some of the issues they raise, though they do it in a humorous way, are serious issues," he added.
Sometimes, the joke works: the furry mascot of Hartlepool football club, H'Angus the Monkey, actually won the town's 2002 mayoral contest. Pubs being permitted to open all day — now a reality —.
