Most people are agreed that this is a pretty strange election. Why aren’t the Tories winning by more? Why are the Unions trying to scupper Labour’s electoral chances? And why is Michael Crick quite so self-referential on Newsnight?
A strange election deserves some strange candidates. Forget your prejudices about the backwoodsmen of the Tory benches, the dead-behind-the-eyes New Labour robots, or the beardy-weardy Lib Dem activists scaring small children in your constituency tonight. We’re talking really strange candidates.
Enter those stalwarts of publicity-seeking oddness, the Monster Raving Loony Party, whose campaign HQ has released a list of candidates standing on 6 May.
In addition to at least two Elvises, Loony candidates include Nutty Farrquha Perigrine Parker, who is challenging incumbent Grant Shapps, ‘Monkey the Drummer’, standing in Kingston and Surbiton, and Crucial Chris Dowling of party affiliate ‘Whats Next Brain Child’, taking on fellow loony Nick Griffin in Barking.
David Cameron faces his own challenge in Whitney from Howling ‘Laud’ Hope, who appears, from a quick perusal of the Loonies’ fairly haphazard literature, to be party leader. Meanwhile Napoleon Dynamite, Baron von Thunderclap (pictured) and Top Cat Owen will all be taking on prominent Tories. Interestingly, no Loony candidate is yet slated to stand against Gordon Brown in Kircaldy and Cowdenbeath. Perhaps the Guardian’s spoof Labour posters have put them off.
Election Insider is working tirelessly to track down some of these Monster Raving Loony Party representatives, as well as some other -ahem – fringe candidates, and hopefully we will be bringing you some hard-hitting political interviews in the days and weeks to come. Watch this space.