Lord Buckethead is a novelty candidate who has stood in four British general elections since 1987, portrayed by several individuals. He poses as an intergalactic villain resembling the Star Wars character Darth Vader.
| Lord Buckethead | |
|---|---|
 Lord Buckethead in 2020 | |
| First appearance | Hyperspace (1984) |
| Created by | Todd Durham |
| Portrayed by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Political satirist |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party |
|
The original character of Lord Buckethead was created by the American filmmaker Todd Durham for his 1984 science fiction film Hyperspace. Without authorisation, Mike Lee stood as Lord Buckethead in the 1987 UK general election and again in the 1992 general election. The character went unused until the comedian Jonathan Harvey stood as Lord Buckethead in the 2017 general election. His televised appearance standing next to then-prime minister Theresa May went viral, drawing media coverage and an online following.
Following the 2017 election, Durham asserted his ownership of Lord Buckethead and displaced Harvey. With Durham's authorisation, Lord Buckethead returned in 2019, now played by David Hughes. He appeared at People's Vote rallies calling for a second Brexit referendum, and stood in the 2019 general election representing the Monster Raving Loony Party. Harvey continues to campaign using his own character, Count Binface.
History
edit1980s origins
editLord Buckethead was created by the American filmmaker Todd Durham for his 1984 film Hyperspace, a low-budget parody of science fiction films such as Star Wars.[3] In the film, Lord Buckethead, a galactic villain similar to the Star Wars character Darth Vader, was played by Robert Bloodworth.[3]
In the UK, Hyperspace was released as Gremloids by the video distributor VIPCO, owned by Mike Lee.[4] In the 1987 general election, Lee stood as Lord Buckethead, representing the Gremloids Party, against the Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher in her constituency in Finchley, London. He campaigned to demolish Birmingham to make way for a spaceport.[5] He received 131 votes.[6] In the 1992 general election, Lord Buckethead stood against the Conservative prime minister John Major in Huntingdon,[4] winning 107 votes (0.1%).[7]
2017 return
editIn 2017, the comedian Jonathan Harvey stood as Lord Buckethead against Theresa May in Maidenhead in the 2017 general election. Harvey decided to use Lord Buckethead after watching Gremloids and discovering that the character had been used in earlier elections. He received 249 (0.4%) votes, the highest yet for the character.[8][9]
Lord Buckethead's televised appearance standing next to May went viral.[1] In a tongue-in-cheek article, The Guardian gave Lord Buckethead a "Best Policy" award for a manifesto pledge to bring back Ceefax.[10] A few days after the election, Lord Buckethead appeared on the American talk show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, campaigning to lead the Brexit negotiations.[11] Harvey created a Twitter account for the character, drawing hundreds of thousands of followers.[1] The Guardian wrote that Lord Buckethead was part of a British tradition of frivolous political candidates, many of whom were supported by the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.[12]
Lord Buckethead made a surprise appearance at Glastonbury Festival in June 2017, introducing the band Sleaford Mods.[13] That year, he released a Christmas single, "A Bucketful of Happiness", accompanied by a music video.[14]
Copyright dispute
editFollowing the 2017 election, Durham contacted Harvey and asserted his ownership of the Lord Buckethead character. According to Harvey, Durham instructed him to give him the password to the Twitter account. Harvey acquiesced as he could not afford a legal challenge.[1] Durham said he welcomed authorised applications to stand as the character in future British elections: "My Lord Buckethead character has always been the voice of the people, so my feeling is to let the people be his voice."[1]
The Lord Buckethead Twitter account became active again in 2019. That year, Lord Buckethead, now played by David Hughes,[2] appeared at People's Vote rallies calling for a second Brexit referendum.[1] In April, Buckethead crowdfunded £15,000 to stand against Nigel Farage for South East England MEP in the May 2019 European Parliament Elections. The bid was abandoned for fear it could take votes away from parties campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU.[1] Durham said the money was returned.[1]
For the general election in December 2019, Buckethead represented the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, standing against prime minister Boris Johnson in his constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip. He won 125 votes (0.3%). Harvey also stood, using a new character, Count Binface.[15]
Platform
edit
Lord Buckethead's manifesto in the 2017 election promised "strong, not entirely stable leadership", a reference to the Conservatives' slogan "strong and stable".[16] The following promises were included:
- The abolition of the House of Lords, with the exception of Lord Buckethead
- Nuclear weapons: "A firm public commitment to build the 100-billion-pound renewal of Britain's Trident weapons system, followed by an equally firm commitment, privately, not to build it. They're secret submarines, so no one will ever know. It's a win-win"[17]
- Free bicycles for all to "combat obesity, traffic congestion, and bike theft"[17]
- Reducing the voting age to 16 and restricting voting beyond the age of 80
- Instead of Theresa May's commitment to bring back grammar schools,[17] Buckethead would build "gamma" schools founded on three principles: "One, better funding for teachers, to attract bright graduates. Two, increased facilities for children, especially playing fields. Three, if any child misbehaves three times, they are blasted into deep space, with the parents provided with a lovely fruit basket, by way of consolation or celebration, depending on the child. Discipline is key"[17]
- A referendum on whether or not to have another Brexit referendum[18]
- Legalise the hunting of fox hunters[18]
- Nationalise the pop singer Adele[18]
- Exile of right-wing columnist Katie Hopkins to the "Phantom Zone"[18]
- Regeneration of Nicholson's Shopping Centre, Maidenhead[18]
- The cessation of arms sales to Saudi Arabia so that Britain can purchase laser weaponry from Lord Buckethead[19]
Electoral history
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Margaret Thatcher | 21,603 | 53.9 | +2.8 | |
| Labour | John Davies | 12,690 | 31.7 | +4.9 | |
| Liberal | David Howarth | 5,580 | 13.9 | −7.3 | |
| Gremloids | Lord Buckethead | 131 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Gold Party | Michaelle St Vincent | 59 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 40,063 | 69.4 | +0.4 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Major | 48,662 | 66.2 | +2.6 | |
| Labour | Hugh Seckleman | 12,432 | 16.9 | +3.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Andrew Duff | 9,386 | 12.8 | −8.3 | |
| Liberal | Paul Wiggin | 1,045 | 1.4 | N/A | |
| Green | Deborah Birkhead | 846 | 1.2 | −0.2 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Screaming Lord Sutch | 728 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Conservative Thatcherite | Michael Flanagan | 231 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Gremloids | Lord Buckethead | 107 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Forward to Mars Party | Charles S. Cockell | 91 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Natural Law | David Shepherd | 26 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 73,554 | 79.2 | +5.2 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Theresa May | 37,718 | 64.8 | −1.0 | |
| Labour | Pat McDonald | 11,261 | 19.3 | +7.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tony Hill | 6,540 | 11.2 | +1.3 | |
| Green | Derek Wall | 907 | 1.6 | −2.0 | |
| UKIP | Gerard Batten | 871 | 1.5 | −6.9 | |
| Animal Welfare | Andrew Knight | 282 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| Gremloids | Lord Buckethead | 249 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Independent | Grant Smith | 152 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 119 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| CPA | Edmonds Victor | 69 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| The Just Political Party | Julian Reid | 52 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Yemi Hailemariam | 16 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Give Me Back Elmo | Bobby Smith | 3 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 58,239 | 76.4 | +3.8 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Boris Johnson | 25,351 | 52.6 | +1.8 | |
| Labour | Ali Milani | 18,141 | 37.6 | −2.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Joanne Humphreys | 3,026 | 6.3 | +2.3 | |
| Green | Mark Keir | 1,090 | 2.3 | +0.4 | |
| UKIP | Geoffrey Courtenay | 283 | 0.6 | −2.8 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Lord Buckethead | 125 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Count Binface | 69 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Alfie Utting | 44 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Yace Yogenstein | 23 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | Norma Burke | 22 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | Bobby Elmo Smith | 8 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | William Tobin | 5 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 48,174 | 68.5 | +1.7 | ||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Waterson, Jim (26 May 2019). "Double trouble: the fight to be the real Lord Buckethead". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Election results 2019: Boris Johnson holds Uxbridge seat". BBC News. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019 – via YouTube.
Hughes, David Steven, commonly known as Lord Buckethead
- ^ a b "The real Lord Buckethead: the cult sci-fi film that inspired Theresa May's election rival". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ a b reprobatemagazine (14 June 2017). "Lord Buckethead – The Whole Story". The Reprobate. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "Lord Buckethead vs Theresa May – meet the UK's weirdest political parties". New Statesman. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Waterson, Jim (13 May 2017). "A Person Called 'Lord Buckethead' Is Standing Against Theresa May in the Election". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Matthew Engel (23 October 2014). Engel's England: Thirty-nine counties, one capital and one man. Profile Books. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-84765-928-6.
- ^ "Maidenhead parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "The Latest: Costumed candidates in UK get moment of fame". Associated Press. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
She looked grim as her local victory was announced, even while sharing a stage with a man dressed as the Muppet character Elmo (he got three votes), Howling "Laud" Hope of the Monster Raving Loony Party (119 votes) and Lord Buckethead, a towering figure in black with a pail on his head (a resounding 249 votes).
- ^ Heritage, Stuart (8 June 2017). "The 2017 election awards: from best eating of a Pringle to biggest dolt". The Guardian.
- ^ Frymorgen, Tomasz (12 June 2017). "Lord Buckethead has agreed to lead Brexit negotiations". BBC Three. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ Malkin, Bonnie (9 June 2017). "Lord Buckethead, Elmo and Mr Fishfinger: a very British election". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ Smith, Patrick (23 June 2017). "Lord Buckethead makes surprise appearance at Glastonbury appearance to introduce Sleaford Mods". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ Dracott, Edd (20 December 2017). "Lord Buckethead released a music video for Christmas and it's a must-watch". Irish Independent.
- ^ "Comedian Jon Harvey to take on Boris Johnson as Count Binface". British Comedy Guide. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ Moseley, Tom (27 April 2017). "'Strong and stable' - had enough yet?". BBC News. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Meet Lord Buckethead, the U.K. election's intergalactic spacelord". CBC Radio. 9 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Lion, Patrick (9 June 2017). "Theresa May's rival Lord Buckethead ran on Katie Hopkins and Adele policies". Mirror Online.
- ^ "Buckethead4Maidenhead". Buckethead4Maidenhead.com.[dead link]
- ^ "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Statement of persons nominated – Maidenhead". Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
External links
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