One of the strangest by-elections in modern British history is about to take place. Nigel Farage has resigned as MP for Clacton to force a by-election that he fully expects to win. But instead of facing Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats or the Greens, he faces something very different.

His only likely serious opponent is Count Binface.

At first sight, that sounds ridiculous. My argument in this video is that the humour is exactly the point.

In this video, I explain why the mainstream political parties have refused to contest this election, why Farage remains under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, and why his political gamble may well backfire, even if he wins.

More importantly, I argue that Count Binface represents something much larger than a novelty candidate. Satire has become one of the few effective ways of challenging populist politics. When conventional opposition fails, ridicule can expose truths that serious politicians seem unwilling to confront.

This is therefore not really a video about a man in a dustbin. It is about the failure of Britain's political system to provide a convincing alternative to forty years of neoliberal politics. It is about political alienation, the weakness of the mainstream parties, and why many voters are looking for a completely different politics based on care rather than grievance.

So, is Count Binface merely a joke—or is he exposing a crisis at the heart of British democracy?

This is the audio version:

The Debate Ammunition for this video is available here.

This is the transcript:

On 6th August in the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex, in England, one of the most powerful populist politicians in Europe will stand for reelection as an MP in the UK's Parliament. His most prominent opponent is very likely to be a man in a dustbin. That sentence is not a joke. It is the literal state of British democracy this summer.

Nigel Farage has forced a by-election he expects to win. He may not. This matters. A Bin is taking on rubbish politics, and I want to talk about it.

The fact that all of this is funny is precisely the point.

Farage thought he was being so clever by resigning from Parliament. He already looks like a fool. The populist misread the room. Every major political party in the UK has refused to stand against Farage in this by-election, which he has created in his own constituency with the goal of being reelected to a seat he already held.

He now faces a satirical candidate of national prominence who has stood in many by-elections and general elections before. He has even stood to be Mayor of London. Count Binface has become the sole and very visible opposition to Farage in a way that is capturing the political and popular imagination of the country. That says something important about British politics, though. It also tells us something about democracy itself.

But let's start with the facts, because they matter.

Farage resigned whilst under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner of the House of Commons. The investigation concerns undeclared donations and other benefits that he has received both during the time that he has been in Parliament and in the year before he was elected.

He calls this election that he has now called ‘a people versus the establishment election' because he says he's being picked upon by that political establishment and by the media in a way that is unprecedented and he wants the people of Clacton to put two fingers up to that establishment and that media and return him to Parliament, where he hopes the investigation will be over. But whilst his resignation did pause the current investigation into his affairs, if he returns to Parliament, as is possible, but not certain, it will be resumed. As a consequence, this move looks much less like an appeal to democracy than a political manoeuvre or stunt in the vain hope of saving his skin by trying to avoid another by-election, which most commentators now think will be the inevitable outcome if he wins this one.

Meanwhile, Labour, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats, plus the Greens, have all refused to stand in this by-election, which Farage called, calling it a political stunt they do not wish to take part in, saying they will not legitimise the way in which he is disregarding the proper processes of Parliament. Now that appears to be reasonable. But it does leave a remarkable gap on the ballot paper in Clacton-on-Sea. And into that gap has stepped Count Binface.

A comedian, otherwise known as Jon Harvey, has become the principal challenger to one of Europe's leading populists, and that says a great deal.

Partly that's because Count Binface is much more than a joke candidate. His absurd policies are both deliberate and astute political satire. Every joke he makes points towards a serious political failure.

His demand that there be a price cap of 99p on the price of a 99 flake is about the cost of living.

His demand that Thames Water executives be made to swim in the River Thames is about the failure of privatisation.

His suggestion in his manifesto that he will build a single social housing unit in Clacton is about the failure of most of politics to supply any.

Satire has become a way of exposing political truth. And that means this is not really a story about a man in a bin, important as his character is. It is about widespread political alienation.

Trust in Westminster has fallen dramatically; we know that. Many voters believe politics has become a closed game. This by-election reinforces that impression. Farage calling it is just an exercise in political power for somebody who's in the privileged elite, whatever he might claim.

But Count Binface is giving people another way to express their frustration, and this might mean that this whole process could severely backfire on Nigel Farage.

But why Count Binface and why now? That's because Britain lacks a convincing political counter-narrative right now. Hard-right populism has shaped much of political debate in this country. The mainstream parties have struggled to answer it. And politics has become cautious and managerial over the last 40 years of neoliberal rule. And few politicians are challenging the grievances that so many people in this country have very directly. Binface has jumped into that empty space, and he has occupied it. That matters because he's done so with a massively effective weapon.

Mockery is one of the few weapons populists can't easily answer. You can argue against an opponent, and Farage is good at that. You can attack an opponent, and that's what Farage does all the time. But it is very much harder to defeat a joke. A one-liner does not allow a response. Binface is turning Farage's own political theatre against him. Satire is changing the rules of this contest. Binface is puncturing the normal political script.

Conventional interviews depend upon accepted rituals, played out between the interviewer and the politician. And we see this time and again, which is why so many people are fed up with the media as well. Satire breaks those conventions. Farage cannot easily dismiss Binface. He cannot attack him without looking defensive. He cannot ignore him because Binface is standing against him on the ballot paper. Indeed, he's his major opponent.

And what we know is that Farage should win. He is, with the bookies at this point of time, the overwhelming favourite. Reform still has strong support in Clacton as far as we know.

But suppose he does win, but with a smaller majority, which is highly likely. This election is in midsummer. People will be on holiday. People won't be interested in turning out for an election in the political dead season of the summer.

People may also just group around Binface and oppose what Farage is trying to do. There could be a strong tactical vote against Farage, and we've seen this in recent elections. By-election after by-election is now showing people find a candidate who is opposed to the fascism of Farage, and they vote for them.

What is more, alienated people may realise Farage is as much in the swamp and mire of politics as anyone else. In itself, a reduced majority that could result from all of this would carry a political message. Farage's stunt would've failed, and if he loses, he'll be out of Parliament, the inquiry will be over, but Reform will be dead. Either way, he is in deep trouble. And even if he wins, the standards investigation will guarantee another by-election, and then he might lose on the second attempt.

So the threat to Farage is one story here, but Binface is another. The real story is the weakness of mainstream opposition to the neoliberal narrative of all the leading parties. Farage's attack from the right is failing. Binface is proving there is a need for an alternative. And the established parties have chosen not to fight.

In itself, that says something very important. They cannot come up with the strategy of the sort that a satirist has. This is a real issue: when a satirist is the alternative, we see the scale of the issue facing the mainstream politics of the UK. They, too, are being lampooned because they have no answers, and that is what Binface is saying.

This then tells us something about ourselves. This by-election shows that we urgently need a non-fascist counter-narrative to neoliberalism and our politics of failure. That task ultimately requires serious politicians dedicated to a politics of care, the thing I talk about on this channel. Until they appear, satire is filling the gap with what looks like a nascent politics of care.

A man in the dustbin should not be the principal opposition in British politics, but whatever happens in Clacton, Britain should pay attention. We need real alternatives. We need them now. We need to consign neoliberalism to the bin, and that is as important as putting Farage in it. We need what is not much less than a political revolution. We need a new politics, and Count Binface is showing us that this might be possible.

Don't dismiss this man as a joke candidate. He might be one of the most important influences on the direction, or rather the redirection, of British politics that has emerged for a long time. I wish him well. I hope he wins. I think he might. This could be the start of something big.

That's what I think. What do you think? There's a poll down below. Please vote. Please let us have your opinions. Please share this video, and if you'd like to make a donation so that we can make more of these in this hot, sweaty summer, that will be great because they really do help.

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