Satirical candidate Count Binface has taken second place in a British parliamentary by-election after receiving 9,455 votes, finishing behind Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
According to a report by the BBC, the trash-can dressed candidate secured 26.9 percent of the total ballot. Farage won the by-election for the right-wing Reform UK party with more than 22,000 votes, taking 63.3 percent of the vote.
Identity of Count Binface
Behind the persona of Count Binface is British comedian and screenwriter John Harvey. Harvey is a graduate of Oxford University who has worked as a writer on major British television comedy shows, including the political satire series The Thick of It and the long-running news panel show Have I Got News For You.
In the United Kingdom, a parliamentary by-election is held to elect a Member of Parliament to the House of Commons when a seat becomes vacant between national general elections. British electoral rules permit independent candidates to register under novel names and costumes, a tradition of political parody that allows voters to back unconventional figures alongside mainstream political parties.
Fringe election history
Harvey made his political debut in 2017 under the name Lord Buckethead, contesting the parliamentary constituency of then-Prime Minister Theresa May. In that election, his candidacy attracted 249 votes.
By the 2019 general election, the comedian adopted the persona of Count Binface, wearing a novelty outfit shaped like a waste bin, to stand against then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He received 69 votes in that contest.
Previous electoral results
Harvey continued his satirical political campaigns during the 2024 general election, running in the constituency of then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, where he earned 308 votes.
In June 2026, Harvey also contested a parliamentary by-election against high-profile British politician Andy Burnham, securing 95 votes before achieving his strongest result of 9,455 votes in the latest election.
