Comedian Count Binface joins the chaotic Clacton by-election after Farage's resignation

Count Binface, the alter ego of middle-aged comedian Jon Harvey, has thrown his hat - or rather his bin - into the contest for the Clacton-on-Sea parliamentary seat that opened when Reform UK leader Nigel Farage resigned amid financial allegations. The Thursday special election, mocked as a farce, already includes three Monster Raving Loony Party candidates and other novelty figures. Binface’s campaign, promoted through a flurry of interviews with journalists from Japan, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, touts a 20-point plan that mixes tongue-in-cheek promises such as cutting some taxes while raising others, building a single affordable home, nationalising singer Adele and moving a men’s-room hand dryer at a Uxbridge pub.

He frames himself as a non-establishment alternative, criticizing Farage’s alleged “witch-hunt” and pledging to bar mid-term resignations from future by-elections. Though he admits his odds are slim, Binface says a parliamentary win would require him to forgo his costume under Commons dress rules. The episode underscores Britain’s tradition of eccentric candidates and adds a layer of satire to an already unusual political showdown.