News

The Monster Raving Loony Party beat UKIP in the Brecon by-election and people think it's because of their Brexit strategy

The Monster Raving Loony Party beat UKIP in the Brecon by-election and people think it's because of their Brexit strategy

Just when you thought that British politics couldn't get any more ridiculous, the Monster Raving Loony Party actually went and did something significant in an election.

The party which was founded in 1982 by musician David 'Screaming Lord' Sutch, with the purpose of satirising the state of British politics has famously never won an election but it's never deterred them from their efforts and they now have something of a cult following. The party stood in it's first parliamentary election the following year when Lord Sutch faced-off against Margaret Thatcher in Finchley.

Cut to this week's by-election in Brecon and Radnorshire, where their candidate Lady Lily The Pink unexpectedly upset the odds and managed to finish second to last, winning 1 per cent of the vote, which was more than UKIP.

Pink campaigned by appealing to those who no longer feel represented by the current political class. Speaking to the BBC she said:

Like a large proportion of the electorate, I'm angry, angry at the failings, the loopholes and the all-too-often self-serving system of governance we currently have.

I'm not a real politician. I'm not even a real Lady, I am however a real Loony - and I'm using comedy, satire and fancy dress in an attempt to get us all heard.

I'm standing - sitting, slouching, occasionally leaning - in this by-election campaign to give voice to those who have the right to vote yet who feel there is no point in voting.

Not only did her campaign work but according to the Beeb, the Loony Party also made a +1 gain in the seat and beat UKIP's candidate, Liz Phillips, by more than 100 votes.

Given that his might be the biggest political upset in the UK since oh, shall we say the summer of 2016, there has understandably been a lot of euphoric reaction, especially as the party's Brexit policy involves Noel Edmonds because who understands 'deal or no deal' better than him?

They even made it onto BBC World News

This is unlikely to be the end of UKIP as an entity in British politics but their influence has definitely begun to wane since Nigel Farage defected and set his 'Brexit Party' which finished third at the by-election behind the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Beyond UKIP this will be seen as a major defeat for Boris Johnson, who suffered the quickest by-election defeat for any new prime minister since World War II as the Lib Dem candidate Jane Dodds, beat the Tories Chris Davies by 1,425 votes to take the seat.

More: Nigel Farage gets roasted for saying he left UKIP because it went 'far right'

The Conversation (0)
x