The major parties boycotted this UK by-election. Enter Count Binface

The major parties boycotted this UK by-election. Enter Count Binface Fri 31 Jul 2026 at 4:57am Count Binface's carefully guarded cover was blown moments before he was due to appear for an interview with the ABC. While we were setting up our equipment in a central London studio, Jonathan Harvey — the man behind the most famous bin in Britain — poked his head around the door and we locked eyes. "Whoops," he said, before turning to a woman in his entourage and asking: "Is that a journalist?" She nodded. "Sorry for ruining Christmas," the comedian quipped, before hastily heading off to finish putting on his space-themed bin costume and returning to the room for our scheduled interview. Harvey's alter ego, Count Binface, has been a sideshow in British elections for about a decade, but has risen to particular prominence lately thanks to his decision to contest a high-profile by-election. He is now a man in demand, and spent an entire day in London this week giving interviews in the lead-up to the vote. Count Binface will next month try and unseat one of the most prominent politicians in the Untied Kingdom, Nigel Farage, when constituents in Clacton-on-Sea head the polls. Mr Farage, leader of the right-wing, populist Reform UK party, is the subject of a parliamentary investigation into his finances and political donations. He denies any wrongdoing, and has styled his resignation and decision to recontest the seat as a way for the community to judge his action. Britain's major parties describe it as a stunt. They have chosen not to run in the vote that will be held on Thursday, August 13. But Count Binface had other ideas. Harvey initially went by the name Lord Buckethead, although he had to relinquish the moniker for legal reasons (that's another story). The talking bin, who claims to be from another cosmos, has already contested seats against former Conservative prime ministers Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Theresa May. In May, he ran in a by-election against Labour's Andy Burnham, who has since risen to become the UK's PM. Count Binface has, perhaps unsurprisingly, lost every election he has stood in. The most votes he has ever received is 308. "Do not underestimate 308. How dare you? How many votes have you got?" he said. Many analysts are predicting that number will be beaten this time. In fact, they believe Count Binface is Mr Farage's primary challenger for the seat. A total of 32 candidates are standing in the by-election and several appear to be doing it as a joke. One hopeful is representing the Everyone is God Party, while the Official Monster Raving Loony Party is fielding three contenders, including one called Nick the Incredible Flying Brick. When the ABC asked Mr Farage recently whether he was confident he could beat Count Binface, he laughed and said: "I should hope so." But the Count thinks he stands a chance. "Never underestimate the power of the bin," he told the ABC. Novelty candidates in spotlight In our 15-minute interview, Count Binface was theatrical, sarcastic and at times hard to follow. He was eager to reel off his attack lines against Mr Farage. "It's pretty darn clear what the choice is in this by-election, right? Nigel Farage or not Nigel Farage? Easy peasy. There's not so much I need to do, really," he said. When I asked how much time he had spent campaigning in Clacton, he shot back: "About as much time as the current incumbent ... because I thought that's how you do it, you see. The idea is you don't go there whatsoever." Here, the count was latching on to a regular criticism of Mr Farage, who opponents say is seldom seen in his working-class electorate. The Reform UK leader's primary address is in a village in Kent, some 130 kilometres away. Count Binface is scathing of the past two by-elections that he has stood in, arguing neither needed to be held. "They've made a promise, haven't they? Should you be allowed to call a by-election, cost the taxpayer money, just because you've decided you want to do that?" he said. Not everyone is seeing the humour in Count Binface's candidacy. Several voters the ABC spoke to in Clacton-on-Sea thought the by-election had been reduced to a farce. While not common in Australia, novelty candidates have a long history in UK politics. "This is a rich part of British satire and humour which in the end wouldn't normally get much of a mention except in this case Count Binface is the only really well-known candidate against Nigel Farage," said Tony Travers, a political analyst and professor in practice at the London School of Economics. When asked whether he was making a mockery of British elections, Count Binface became animated. "I'm doing the entire opposite," he said. "I am here to celebrate and defend the wonders of British democracy. In the UK on election night, you can have the Prime Minister, a member of the UN Security Council, standing next to me on a village hall stage. It's the great leveller. "Here in this country, you can vote for whoever you want and you can stand for election no matter what you look like. No names mentioned. So how is that making a mockery of it? I'm proving its wonderment." After that answer, the minder informed us our time with Count Binface was almost up. At the same time, Count Binface's "prickly" persona also seemed to drop. The costume was there, but I felt I was speaking to Harvey again. "Thank you so much for coming," Count Binface said. "I've never had a minder wrap up an interview before, I feel like a celebrity." Opinion polls have consistently shown Mr Farage on course to claim a thumping victory in Clacton. He was more than 8,000 votes ahead of his nearest competitor when he won the seat at the 2024 general election. Reform UK has only eight MPs (out of 650) in Britain's lower house of parliament. But the party's popularity is growing, and it now ranks first or second nationally in some surveys. Regardless of the result in Clacton, the investigation into Mr Farage's finances will continue. A 5 million pound ($9.58 million) donation from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire to the Reform UK leader is coming under particular scrutiny, although Mr Farage insists he has complied with all parliamentary obligations.