Farage beats the aliens
Nigel Farage has comfortably won a special election that he triggered, meaning he will remain as a member of parliament after a contest that all the other major British parties boycotted, leaving his main opposition as a comedian dressed as a trash can. Farage, leader of the populist hard-right Reform UK party, was ultimately re-elected by a substantial margin, winning 22,239 votes – 1,000 more votes than he won in the 2024 general election. His main opponent in the by-election, Count Binface – a self-described intergalactic space warrior – won a creditable 9,455 votes, indicating the presence of a considerable anti-Farage vote, even in one of the most right-leaning areas in Britain. Farage, the country’s chief anti-immigrant activist and Brexit architect, claimed an overwelming victory, posting on X: “The result in this election speaks for itself.” It is highly unusual for by-election winners not to attend the count; one other notable example is Bobby Sands, a member of the Irish Republican Army who was elected as an MP in 1981 but was in prison and on hunger strike at the time.
Count Binface is the stage persona of British comic Jon Harvey and a perennial novelty candidate in high-profile British elections. Count Binface presents himself as the leader of the Recyclons from the planet Sigma IX, and his appearance is vaguely Darth Vader-esque—with the notable difference being that his helmet is clearly modeled on a trash bin. When Nigel Farage announced in July 2026 that he was resigning as MP for Clacton with the intention of reclaiming the seat in a by-election, he was met with a near total boycott by the rest of the British political establishment. Count Binface presented himself as a unity candidate, saying simply, “I’m not Nigel Farage.” An Ipsos poll conducted days after Farage’s resignation found that 33 percent of British adults preferred Count Binface to win the Clacton by-election, compared to just 21 percent for Farage. Farage ultimately won that election by a comfortable margin, but Count Binface captured an unprecedented 27 percent of the vote, the best ever performance for a novelty candidate in a parliamentary election.
Surrounded by more than 30 other prospective parliamentarians including three “loonies” and someone from the Everyone is God party, Count Binface basked in the greatest result ever achieved by one of Britain’s traditional joke election candidates. “I’m gratified that after this election I have been able to put the seal on it by coming to get the verdict of the good people of Clacton,” said Binface, dressed in a silver and black outfit with matching cape and wearing a silver trash can as a helmet, in a recreation center in the southern English seaside town.
No laughing Matter
Why do late night comedians skew left wing?
Because the right wing viewers have to work in the morning.
I used to really enjoy political jokes…
Unfortunately, too many of them got elected.
Have you heard about the rising political tensions between yogurt and penicillin?
One side is probiotic, and the other is antibiotic.
They’re calling it a culture war.
In America, prison reform is a political issue.
In Russia, political reform is a prison issue.
August 18th Birthdays
1995 – Madeline Petch, 1994 – Maia Mitchell, 1958 – Madeline Stowe, 1998 – Josephine Langford
1969 – Christian Slater, 1952 – Patrick Swayze, 1970 – Edward Norton, 1937 – Robert Redford