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MUCH LIKE OVER here, elections come around every five years or so in the UK.
And, despite an electoral deposit of £500 designed to deter fringe candidates, polling day inevitably brings full complement of unusual characters.
While some entries are purely for humorous effect, others sincerely represent ideas that seem far-flung to the mainstream.
With the UK general election set to take place on 7 May, here we take a look though some of the more diverse elements that will be entering the field.
A long-standing oddity in the UK election scene, the Monster Raving Loony Party were set up by musician Screaming Lord Sutch (who sadly died from suicide in 1999) with the purpose of satirising the British political system.
More than thirty years after the party was set up it is still going strong and is set to field 20 candidates in the upcoming election.
The current leader of the party is Howling Laud Hope, who was jointly elected to the position with his pet cat, Catmando, in 1999. He has been the party’s sole leader since Catmando’s untimely demise in a road traffic accident in 2002. He will be running against current Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, in the constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the upcoming election.
The party’s policies include reducing the national debt by “selling castles back to the French” and “tax payers to receive nectar points from the HMRC”.
This party were set up by leader Mike Buchanan to fight for ‘men’s rights’, which he claims have been eroded. The party and its leader have come in for much criticism for their opposition to feminism.
In the party’s manifesto they make the rather dubious statement that, “There are no areas in which the State disadvantages women and girls.” The party will be fielding candidates in the Nottingham constituencies.
Think that Scotland is the only UK country thinking of breaking out of the Union? Think again. The English Democrats think it would be great if England went independent.
The party currently hold one local government seat in the UK and will field candidates in a number of constituencies across England in the upcoming election. Their chairman is Robin Tilbrook.
This single issue party is set to run in constituencies around the UK on the single issue of the review of cannabis laws. The party is newly formed and have a section of their website where you can take a short quiz to see if you are eligible to stand for them.
The party takes its inspiration in part from the legalisation of cannabis in some states in the US.
As leader of the ‘Free United Kingdom Party’, the comedy character Al Murray is set to contest the seat of South Thanet against Nigel Farage and a range of other colourful characters.
Murray’s election promises include making pints of beer 1p and bricking up the Channel Tunnel.
Besides Murray, Prophet Zebadiah Abu-Obadiah (real name Robert Boaler), will be running for the “Al-Zebabist Nation of OOOG”, a satirical party which policies include tax breaks for bearded families and the separation of the Isle of Thanet from the rest of the UK.
Also featured in this constituency is the ‘We are the Reality’ party – who were founded by Mark ‘Bez’ Berry, of Happy Mondays fame. The party is broadly left wing and was featured as part of a Channel 4 documentary last year.
Quite possibly the only druid represented in this year’s election, Arthur Uther Pendragon has previously had a number of run-ins with English Heritage over Stonehenge, which he campaigned for the removal of an exclusion area around. He will be running in the Salisbury constituency.
Arthur Pendragon / Twitter#Vote for #KingArthur https://t.co/BjmfKHojQd pic.twitter.com/0pxXi1vnlY
— Arthur Pendragon (@DruidKingArthur) March 19, 2015
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I’d vote for whoever can get rid of The Fast and the Furious 7 ads from The Journal !!
Vote for adblock.
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Mick Wallace got in here , I have great hope for Arthur Pendragon.
There’s a load of unusual characters running our country
We already have it here same circus different clowns
I’d vote for any of that lot before I’d vote for murderers, rapists and pedophiles.
I’d hope so!
I’d have thought that would go without saying.
Although my anti shinner senses are tingling….
I don’t recall the the BBC or thr royal marines running in the election?
Ah so it’s only bad when they do it , Kevin.
No they just do it statistically higher than any other group in the UK. Army is the rape capitol and BBC is the pedo capitol.
“Tax breaks for bearded families”
We have our own Muppet show. Wonder what the Government will do about people that were left without money this weekend after the bank f..k up once again. You couldn’t pay for a show like this. Irish water adopting Skakey Stephens song green door. Up he boyas
You must wake up shaking with rage every morning, before doing absolutely nothing about it
Believe it or not, the government is not to blame for everything.
All infinitely better than UKIP.
fianna fail have not ruled out going into coalition with these lads if the numbers add up.
Some of our independents would fit nicely into that party
people vote for gerry adams so anything is possible
Vote, Mearse…
have your say