Count Binface, the man in a can with a plan, seeks Parliament seat

Count Binface is interviewed at a studio in London [AP Photo]

Timing is everything in comedy and, so it seems, in British politics for a perennial joke candidate who wears a garbage can on his head.

Count Binface, a self-described intergalactic space warrior, has landed in the center of the U.K.’s political universe ahead of a special election Thursday that was derided as a farce long before the ballot was packed with nearly three dozen candidates — many from the silly end of the spectrum.

Binface, who has run against prime ministers past and present, was the first to throw his bucket in the ring when Reform UK leader Nigel Farage abruptly quit Parliament and said he would seek reelection to clear his name over financial allegations.

“Game on, Nige,” Binface declared after Farage, portraying himself as the victim of a witch hunt, said he would represent the people against the establishment.

But when the major political parties denounced Farage’s move as a political stunt and boycotted the Clacton-on-Sea election in southeastern England, the trash-talking comedian was launched into prime position as the default challenger. He has been on a nonstop media blitz since.

“I’m the only fresh thing on the menu,” Binface told The Associated Press on a day of interviews with reporters from Japan, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. “You’re all sick of these politicians … you need something different, a little bit of secret sauce.”

“If (Farage) wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won’t stop him,” then-Treasury Secretary Rachel Reeves said as she officially accepted Farage’s resignation and set the stage for the election.

The man behind the bin

Under Binface’s black cape, rubbish bin and body armor that looks straight out of a low-budget sci-fi film is a middle-aged comedian named Jon Harvey trying to keep his cool during a sweaty summer.

Binface never breaks character and delivers snarky ripostes when challenged to lift the lid.

“Has anyone here seen ‘Return of the Jedi’?” he told a BBC host, referring to the “Star Wars” sequel where Darth Vader is unmasked. “Nobody wants to know what’s under the recycling. … It’s absolutely putrefying.”

Harvey is a married father of two who grew up in London and studied classics at Oxford. He has been a TV writer on political comedy “The Thick of It” and news quiz “Have I Got News for You.” He’s also the author of Binface’s memoir, “What on Earth? An Alien’s Guide to Fixing Britain.”

In a country where almost any adult citizen can run for office, eccentric candidates are a celebrated electoral tradition. On the 3-foot-long (0.9-meter) Clacton ballot are three members of the Monster Raving Loony Party, including Nick the Incredible Flying Brick and Baron von Thunderclap.

Harvey’s turn in politics began almost a decade ago when he blasted to Earth from the planet Sigma IX as Lord Buckethead to run for the House of Commons seat held by then-Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May. She won handily, but Binface rocketed to fame.

The use of Buckethead, borrowed from a “Star Wars” parody, ended in “an unfortunate battle on the planet Copyright.” He was reincarnated as Binface to take on Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

He twice challenged London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who proclaimed in his 2024 victory speech that he was the first person in British politics to win successive victories over Binface.

“Believe me, he made me work hard for it,” Khan quipped.

In June, Binface lost a parliamentary special election to Andy Burnham, who quickly replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister after Labour was battered by Farage’s party in local and regional elections.

A manifesto from outer space

Binface, leader of the “Recyclons” on his home planet, continues to reuse items from past manifestos featuring a mix of absurd and hyper-local policies.

He promises to “cut your taxes, and raise everyone else’s,” build one affordable home and nationalize singer Adele — whatever that means.

One proposal is to relocate the hand dryer in the men’s restroom at the Crown & Treaty pub in Uxbridge to a more sensible location.

“Do you want to be using the urinal and have another human blasting your bits with insanely hot air?” he said.

His main selling point is that he’s not Farage, though he has avoided directly attacking his main opponent. Instead, his platform takes not-so-subtle digs at the populist.

Referring to the gift Farage did not declare when elected, which is the subject of a parliamentary investigation, Binface said he would not accept 5-million-pound ($6.7-million) gifts from “crypto billionaires (on Earth).”

He would also bar members of Parliament who resign midterm from running in the subsequent by-election and promises to spend more time in Clacton than Washington, D.C., a reference to Farage’s trips to the U.S., where he considers President Donald Trump an ally.

Binface, if elected, has no interest in dealing with Trump: “He’s awful.” But he would “love to cement” the special relationship between Britain and the U.S. “with a galactic union.”

“You’ve still got the Atlantic Ocean. I can’t do much about that, but yes, I’d love to foster better relations,” he said.

Binface concedes he doesn’t expect to win. BRIAN MELLEY, MDT/AP