With the Conservatives and Labour dominating much of the coverage, passive observers would be forgiven for thinking the UK only has two political parties, but in fact dozens of different groupings are fielding election candidates.
Nine different parties held seats in the last House of Commons and, while several of these are unheralded, that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the vast array of peculiar political parties dotted across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
A total of 70 different parties are fielding candidates in the upcoming election and many of them come with peculiar, charming and bizarre names such as the Mother World Party, Gwlad Gwlad, the Space Navies Party and, of course, the famous Monster Raving Loony Party.
Here are some of the weird and wonderful political groupings that will be on the ballot around the UK on December 12.
Church of the Militant Elvis Party
David Bishop is a retired painter and decorator who now spends his time creating art and writing poetry; oh, and running for election with the Bus Pass Elvis Party aka Church of the Militant Elvis.
Bishop is a vocal opponent of the planned HS2 high speed train and his other goals include "overthrow[ing] the Corporate Capitalist State which turned Elvis, a man of immense talent, into a fat media joke."
He also campaigns on green issues such as global warming, the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and [retail giant] Tesco’s “attempted takeover of the High Street”.
Monster Raving Loony Party
While many of the more, ahem, odd parties only manage to field candidates in one constituency the well established Monster Raving Loony Party is running in more than 20 electoral areas.
The Raving Mr P, Incredible Flying Brick, The Mid Bed Minx and Lord Bucket Head, who is competing against Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, are all listed on its slate of candidates.
The party dates all the way back to 1983 when it was set up by David Sutch, also known as Screaming Lord Sutch, third Earl of Harrow. It is famous for its deliberately bizarre policies such as releasing inmates to reduce prison overcrowding.
The Psychedelic Future Party
Former English teacher and current carer Jason Pilley is the lone candidate standing for election as a representative of the Psychedelic Future Party.
Running in the Rockford & Southend constituency, his platform includes increasing NHS funding, a randomised House of Lords and free speech protections. He opposes fox-hunting, selling energy drinks to kids and the decline of the High Street.
The Space Navies Party
The Space Navies Party has a range of interesting policies including introducing direct democracy, slashing MPs’ pay and giving people a “basic income grant” of £19,000 a year.
It is the brainchild of Lisabela Marschild who is running for the party in the Blaydon constituency in northeast England.
Marschild’s vision for direct democracy would allow registered voters to vote on an issue three days before an MP votes in parliament. The politician would then simply cast its ballot the way the majority in the constituency had voted.
“We wear uniforms, have medals, have flags, music, and a shared vision of a peaceful Future with brave astronauts flying rockets to collect resources from the asteroid belt and a form of International Rescue as seen in Jerry Anderson’s creation Thunderbirds,” the party says on its Facebook page.
Touch Love Worldwide
"Will you vote for LOVE if given a choice at the general election or any election? Will you vote to LOVE and to be LOVED? Help spread the message," is the bold opening gambit on the website of the Touch Love Worldwide party.
The party has one simple aim, you guessed it: "to install the rule of LOVE in the UK through legislative process." Harriet Gore will represent the party in the Kensington constituency.
Candidates have to pay a £500 deposit to get their name on the ballot and it’s only returned if they garner at least five percent of their constituents’ votes. This is to try and discourage people who have no hope of getting elected from throwing their hat in the ring. While the aspiring politicians listed above are extremely unlikely to get their money back, anything can happen in politics.
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