Count Binface
British novelty candidate (born 1980)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jonathan David Harvey (born May 1980) is a British writer who contests elections as the novelty candidate Count Binface, an "independent space warrior" who wears a bin-shaped helmet. Harvey previously stood as a similar character, Lord Buckethead, but was forced to create a new character due to a dispute with the filmmaker Todd Durham, who owns the Buckethead character.
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May 1980 (age 46)
- Scriptwriter
- author
Count Binface | |
|---|---|
Harvey as Count Binface in 2024 | |
| Born | Jonathan David Harvey May 1980 (age 46) Croydon, England |
| Education | University of Oxford (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Notable work | A Fan for All Seasons (2023) |
| Spouse | Sarah Daykin |
| Children | 2 |
| Count Binface | |
| Species | Recyclon |
| Title | Leader of the Recyclons |
| Origin | Sigma IX |
First appeared | 12 December 2018[1] |
| Website | countbinface |
As Binface, Harvey contested the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency at the 2019 general election, against the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and at the 2023 by-election that followed Johnson's resignation as a member of Parliament; the London Mayoral elections of 2021 and 2024;[2] the 2024 general election in the Richmond and Northallerton constituency against prime minister, Rishi Sunak; and the 2026 Makerfield by-election against Andy Burnham.[3] He became the primary contender against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in the 2026 Clacton by-election following its boycott by the mainstream parties.[4]
Harvey has used Binface to promote electoral participation, with the slogan "Make Your Vote Count". He originally stood as an independent, but his affiliation has been given since 2023 as the Count Binface Party.[5]
Background
Jonathan David Harvey[6] was born in Croydon, London,[7] in May 1980.[8] His father, an estate agent, was an alcoholic, which made his childhood chaotic; he lived in 11 houses in his first 11 years.[9] He graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA in Literae Humaniores.[10][11] He has worked as a scriptwriter for the satirical television programmes The Thick of It, Have I Got News for You, and Time Trumpet.[7]
In 2017, Harvey stood as the novelty candidate Lord Buckethead against the prime minister, Theresa May, in Maidenhead at the 2017 general election, drawing media attention.[12] He wore a black cloak over a spacesuit-style costume, with a tall, cylindrical black helmet which had a thin visor. The character originated from the 1984 film Hyperspace, a low-budget parody of science fiction films such as Star Wars, directed by Todd Durham.[13] Harvey decided to stand as Lord Buckethead after watching Hyperspace and discovering that the character had been used as a novelty candidate in the 1987 general election and the 1992 general election.[14][12]
Following the 2017 election, Todd Durham contacted Harvey and asserted his ownership of the Lord Buckethead character.[12] Harvey gave Durham the Buckethead social media account,[12] and Durham hired the film journalist David Hughes to take over the character.[15] In response, Harvey introduced a new character, Count Binface, and stood in the 2019 UK general election.[16] Hughes said he and Harvey went for drinks afterwards and that Harvey "does actually genuinely believe that the absurdist element of British elections is kind of a cool one".[9]
Character
Count Binface is an "intergalactic space warrior"[17] in a black-and-grey uniform, with a long silver cape and a helmet shaped like a dustbin with a glowing strip in place of eyes. He describes himself as the leader of the Recyclons from the planet Sigma IX,[18] and claims to be over 5,900 years old.[19] Binface named his second-in-command as "General Waste".[20] In an appearance on BBC's Newsnight on 8 July 2026, when asked by presenter Paddy O'Connell to remove his mask, Harvey said that "nobody wants to know" what is underneath a Recyclon's helmet, describing it as "absolutely putrefying".[21] In 2026, he appeared, as a candidate in a general election, in an episode of the television drama series Industry.[22]
Elections
2019 general election
Binface's policies for the 2019 general election included:
- bringing back Ceefax, the teletext service;[17] he had previously pledged this in 2017 as Lord Buckethead[23]
- returning 20,001 police officers to the street, a reference to the Conservative pledge of 20,000 more police officers[24]
- nationalising model railways[25]
- holding a referendum on holding a second referendum on the United Kingdom's membership in the European Union[25]
- allowing any Czechs on the Irish border to remain,[25] a reference to the Brexit and the Irish border controversy
- nationalising Adele[26]
- abolishing the House of Lords;[26] he had previously pledged this in 2017 as Lord Buckethead[27]
- giving free broadband to everyone[26]
- stopping the sale of arms to repressive regimes[26]
- making Piers Morgan zero emissions by 2030.[26]
- renaming London Bridge to "Phoebe Waller-Bridge"[26]
- introducing a minimum voting age of 16 and a maximum of 80[26]
- sending £1 trillion a week to the NHS[25]
- proroguing Jacob Rees-Mogg[25]
- banishing Katie Hopkins to the Phantom Zone[25]
- moving the hand dryer in the men's toilet at the Crown and Treaty pub, Uxbridge, to a more sensible position[25]
In 2019 another individual contested the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat as Lord Buckethead, representing the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, to which Binface said he "look[s] forward to both the hustings and to challenging [him] to take part in a receptacle-to-receptacle debate".[28]
2021 London mayoral election
Binface announced his intention to stand for the London mayoral election, which was scheduled for 2020 but delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He announced a suite of 21 policies which "marries fiscal responsibility, social awareness, and not being an anti-vaccine nutjob", including:
- finishing Crossrail[29]
- free parking for electric vehicles between Vine Street and the Strand,[29] in reference to where the Free Parking space is located on the British Monopoly game board
- London to join the European Union[29]
- renaming London Bridge to "Phoebe Waller-Bridge" and Hammersmith Bridge to "Wayne Bridge".[29]
- tying all government ministers' pay, including that of the mayors, to that of nurses for the next 100 years[30]
- banning loud snacks from theatres[31]
- banning the use of the speakerphone function on mobile phones, with offenders forced to watch the 2019 film Cats every day for a year[32]
Binface started a fundraiser to raise £10,000, the amount necessary to allow him to stand for Mayor of London. The excess money was donated to the charity Shelter to help combat homelessness.[29][non-primary source needed] He finished ninth with 24,775 votes in the mayoral election.[33]
2024 London mayoral election
In March 2024 Binface started another fundraiser to allow him to stand at the London mayoral election held on 2 May 2024. Any funds raised in excess of the necessary £10,000 would again be donated to charity.[34] After gaining the required amount, he announced his entry into the race[2] and released his manifesto.[35] The Binface manifesto re-used many policies from previous years but added a few new ones, including:
- abolishing video assistant referees[36]
- forcing Thames Water managers to "take a dip in the Thames... see how they like it", in reference to the sewage discharge controversy
- building "at least one affordable house", referring to the housing crisis in London[37]
- giving listed building status to Claudia Winkleman's fringe[38]
Binface finished in 11th place with 24,260 votes – ahead of Britain First, despite the election's change to a First-past-the-post voting system.[39] The incumbent mayor and winner, Sadiq Khan, in a victory speech remarked about celebrating "becoming the first person in British political history to win successive victories over Count Binface".[40] He added that Binface finishing ahead of the Britain First candidate was "another reason to love London".[41]
2024 general election
On 7 June 2024 Binface announced his intention to stand as a candidate at the 2024 general election, contesting the Richmond and Northallerton constituency against the prime minister, Rishi Sunak. Binface said that he was "taking on the biggest fish of the lot" in the election and commented; "You shirked D-Day Rishi, you can't miss the B-Day", a reference to the controversy caused by Sunak's early departure from the ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.[42] New policies announced in Binface's manifesto include:
- a "space bridge" to solve the traffic problems caused by Northallerton's level crossings.
- reducing the price of 99 Flake ice creams to 99 pence[43]
- National Service for former prime ministers
- Inviting European nations to join the UK[44]
Binface enlisted the YouTuber and mathematician Matt Parker to create charts for his free election pamphlet and to act as an election observer on behalf of the Count Binface Party.[45] The Daily Star endorsed Binface, as well as the Labour Party.[46] Binface finished sixth of thirteen candidates with 308 votes, representing 0.6% of all the votes cast.[47] He commented on Twitter that it was his best placing and highest ever vote count in a national election and declared that "Bindependence Day has come".[44]
2026 Makerfield by-election
For the 2026 Makerfield by-election, Binface stated in his manifesto that he would build at least one affordable house, cap the price of a 99 Flake at 99p, and that of a "Wigan kebab" (a pie in a barm cake) at £2.[48] Binface tweeted, "Vote Count Binface to... cut your taxes and raise everyone else's".[49] He also said; "I believe elected mayors should serve out their terms before they're eligible to stand for parliament", a criticism of Andy Burnham who won the by-election while still serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester.[50] Binface won 95 votes, or 0.2% of the vote, placing 7th out of 14 candidates. He was 68 votes behind the Liberal Democrat candidate.[51] In Prime Minister's Questions after the by-election, Keir Starmer sarcastically congratulated Kemi Badenoch's Conservative Party "because they got 2.2% of the vote in Makerfield, just edging past Count Binface".[52][53]
2026 Clacton by-election
On 7 July 2026 Nigel Farage announced his intention to resign as the MP for Clacton, triggering the 2026 Clacton by-election.[54] The announcement came amid parliamentary scrutiny of Farage's personal finances and allegations concerning undeclared gifts and support.[55] There were calls for major parties to stand down,[56] including from Binface who said: "I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house. Nigel Farage says he wants the people versus the establishment. So be it. Leave him to me."[57][58] The Labour Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Restore Britain said that they will not contest the by-election, Labour foreign secretary Yvette Cooper calling it a "political stunt" and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch describing the "fake" election as a distraction.[59][56][60]
Binface has been pitted against Farage in media coverage, with The Independent reporting that Binface had become the recipient of an anti-Farage tactical voting campaign.[61] In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Binface conceded that he would "probably not" win, but said that his job was "to celebrate and defend the wonders of British democracy".[62] Regarding the other major parties dropping out of the race, he asked if they were "running scared from old Binny" or if they thought Farage was "running a cunning stunt",[63] and said his main appeal would be that he is not Farage.[64] He confirmed that he had never been to Clacton, as he understood that staying away from the constituency was "part of how you do the job".[65]
David Wolfson, the Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales, said that the election of Binface could cause a "constitutional crisis",[66] as parliamentary convention dictates that MPs "may not address the House wearing a hat".[67] Dan Jarvis, the Secretary of State for Defence, acknowledged Binface for "stepping forward" and wished him luck.[68] Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservatives, said that if the by-election was a "people versus the establishment" contest, Binface might be the people's candidate.[69] When asked about Binface at the 2026 Ankara NATO summit, Starmer said he could not endorse him due to Labour Party rules.[70] The New Statesman business editor Will Dunn endorsed Binface and called for a united front in support of his candidacy (he has since clarified that he didn't mean to endorse Binface, he endorsed the position Binface occupies in British politics).[71][72] Rachel Reeves, who as Chancellor of the Exchequer had to appoint Farage as Steward of the Manor of Northstead before the by-election could go ahead, said on social media: "If [Farage] wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won't stop him."[73] David Hughes, who now portrays Harvey's previous character, Lord Buckethead, said he would not stand.[15]
Binface received a surge of support from activists after announcing his candidacy, raising more than £15,000 in donations in a day, which he described as akin to a "fever dream". He said he hoped to appeal to voters from all sides of the political spectrum and said he could even court the immigrant vote, given that he was "the ultimate alien".[70] Dale Vince, a major Labour Party donor, offered to fund Binface's campaign in the by-election. The Telegraph reported that Vince could donate up to £180,050 on campaigning materials.[74]
The dark horse candidacy of Binface became the subject of several exchanges in House of Commons debates at the expense of Farage,[75][76][77] including at Keir Starmer's final appearance in Prime Minister's Questions:[78]
BADENOCH: As Leader of the Opposition, the Prime Minister led his party to a landslide after a historic defeat, I fully intend to do the same, but if you want to lead this country, you should set out your plans to do so. We have, but one politician intends to spend the summer avoiding scrutiny, refusing to set out his plans. Does the Prime Minister not agree that what the country deserves is a televised debate between Nigel Farage and Count Binface?
STARMER: Well, Reform intends to spend the summer arguing with a bin. My advice to everyone is: put your vote in the Bin!
— Engagements, Debated on Wednesday 15 July 2026
Starmer's comments were interpreted as his endorsement of Binface by The Daily Telegraph.[79]
Electoral history
Summary
| Election | Office or Constituency | Votes | Percent | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 United Kingdom general election | Uxbridge and South Ruislip | 69 | 0.1 | 6/11 |
| 2021 London mayoral election | Mayor of London | 24,775 | 1.0 | 8/19 |
| 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election | Uxbridge and South Ruislip | 190 | 0.6 | 8/17 |
| 2024 London mayoral election | Mayor of London | 24,260 | 1.0 | 11/13 |
| 2024 United Kingdom general election | Richmond and Northallerton | 308 | 0.6 | 6/13 |
| 2026 Makerfield by-election | Makerfield | 95 | 0.2 | 7/14 |
| 2026 Clacton by-election | Clacton | TBA | ||
Detailed
| 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 | ||
| Mayor of London election 6 May 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round | ||||
| Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | ||||
| Labour | Sadiq Khan | 1,013,721 | 40.0% | 192,313 | 1,206,034 | 55.2% |
| |
| Conservative | Shaun Bailey | 893,051 | 35.3% | 84,550 | 977,601 | 44.8% |
| |
| Green | Siân Berry | 197,976 | 7.8% |
| ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Luisa Porritt | 111,716 | 4.4% |
| ||||
| Independent | Niko Omilana | 49,628 | 2.0% |
| ||||
| Reclaim | Laurence Fox | 47,634 | 1.9% |
| ||||
| London Real | Brian Rose | 31,111 | 1.2% |
| ||||
| Rejoin EU | Richard Hewison | 28,012 | 1.1% |
| ||||
| Count Binface | Count Binface | 24,775 | 1.0% |
| ||||
| Women's Equality | Mandu Reid | 21,182 | 0.8% |
| ||||
| Let London Live | Piers Corbyn | 20,604 | 0.8% |
| ||||
| Animal Welfare | Vanessa Hudson | 16,826 | 0.7% |
| ||||
| UKIP | Peter Gammons | 14,393 | 0.6% |
| ||||
| Independent | Farah London | 11,869 | 0.5% |
| ||||
| Heritage | David Kurten | 11,025 | 0.4% |
| ||||
| Independent | Nims Obunge | 9,682 | 0.4% |
| ||||
| SDP | Steve Kelleher | 8,764 | 0.3% |
| ||||
| Renew | Kam Balayev | 7,774 | 0.3% |
| ||||
| Independent | Max Fosh | 6,309 | 0.2% |
| ||||
| Burning Pink | Valerie Brown | 5,305 | 0.2% |
| ||||
| Labour hold | ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Steve Tuckwell | 13,965 | 45.2 | −7.4 | |
| Labour | Danny Beales | 13,470 | 43.6 | +6.0 | |
| Green | Sarah Green | 893 | 2.9 | +0.7 | |
| Reclaim | Laurence Fox | 714 | 2.3 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Blaise Baquiche | 526 | 1.7 | −4.6 | |
| SDP | Steve Gardner | 248 | 0.8 | New | |
| Independent | Kingsley Hamilton Anti-Ulez[a] | 208 | 0.7 | New | |
| Count Binface | Count Binface | 190 | 0.6 | +0.5 | |
| Independent | No-Ulez Leo Phaure[a] | 186 | 0.6 | New | |
| Rejoin EU | Richard Hewison | 105 | 0.3 | New | |
| Let London Live | Piers Corbyn | 101 | 0.3 | New | |
| Independent | Cameron Bell | 91 | 0.3 | New | |
| CPA | Enomfon Ntefon | 78 | 0.3 | New | |
| UKIP | Rebecca Jane | 61 | 0.2 | −0.4 | |
| Climate | Ed Gemmell | 49 | 0.2 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 32 | 0.1 | −0.2 | |
| Independent | 77 Joseph[b] | 8 | 0.0 | New | |
| Majority | 495 | 1.6 | −13.4 | ||
| Turnout | 31,000 | 46.23 |  17.3 | ||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −6.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Sadiq Khan | 1,088,225 | 43.8 | ||
| Conservative | Susan Hall | 812,397 | 32.7 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Rob Blackie | 145,184 | 5.8 | ||
| Green | Zoë Garbett | 145,114 | 5.8 | ||
| Reform | Howard Cox | 78,865 | 3.2 | ||
| Independent | Natalie Campbell | 47,815 | 1.9 | ||
| SDP | Amy Gallagher | 34,449 | 1.4 | ||
| Animal Welfare | Femy Amin | 29,280 | 1.2 | ||
| Independent | Andreas Michli | 26,121 | 1.1 | ||
| Independent | Tarun Ghulati | 24,702 | 1.0 | ||
| Count Binface | Count Binface | 24,260 | 1.0 | ||
| Britain First | Nick Scanlon | 20,519 | 0.8 | ||
| London Real | Brian Rose | 7,501 | 0.3 | ||
| Majority | 275,828 | 11.1 | |||
| Turnout | 2,484,432 | 40.50 | 1.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 6,162,428 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Rishi Sunak | 23,059 | 47.5 | −15.8 | |
| Labour | Tom Wilson | 10,874 | 22.4 | 6.0 | |
| Reform | Lee Taylor | 7,142 | 14.7 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Daniel Callaghan | 4,322 | 8.9 | −3.6 | |
| Green | Kevin Foster | 2,058 | 4.2 | 0.4 | |
| Count Binface | Count Binface | 308 | 0.6 | New | |
| Independent | Brian Richmond | 222 | 0.5 | New | |
| Independent | Niko Omilana | 160 | 0.3 | New | |
| Yorkshire | Rio Goldhammer | 132 | 0.3 | −1.8 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Sir Archibald Stanton | 99 | 0.2 | New | |
| Workers Party | Louise Dickens | 90 | 0.2 | New | |
| Independent | Angie Campion | 33 | 0.1 | New | |
| Independent | Jason Barnett | 27 | 0.1 | New | |
| Majority | 12,185 | ||||
| Turnout | 73,888 | 66 | −5.6 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Co-op | Andy Burnham | 24,927 | 54.8 | +9.6 | |
| Reform | Robert Kenyon | 15,696 | 34.5 | +2.7 | |
| Restore | Rebecca Shepherd | 3,111 | 6.8 | New | |
| Conservative | Michael Winstanley | 997 | 2.2 | −8.7 | |
| Green | Sarah Wakefield | 308 | 0.7 | −3.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jake Austin | 163 | 0.4 | −6.4 | |
| Count Binface | Count Binface | 95 | 0.2 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 45 | 0.1 | New | |
| Independent | John Dyer | 37 | 0.1 | New | |
| Rejoin EU | Peter Ward[c] | 35 | 0.1 | New | |
| Libertarian | Dan Clarke | 18 | 0.04 | New | |
| Climate | Ed Gemmell | 18 | 0.04 | New | |
| Independent | Robert Pownall | 18 | 0.04 | New | |
| Independent | Paul Gould | 8 | 0.02 | New | |
| Majority | 9,231 | 20.3 | +6.9 | ||
| Turnout | 45,476 | 58.7 | +6.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 77,462 | ||||
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | 3.5 | |||
Notes
- Names "Anti-Ulez"[83] and "No-Ulez"[84] indicate opposition to London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
- Otherwise known as Thomas Faithful Darwood, his ballot name alludes to Pharaoh's dream interpreted by Joseph in the Book of Genesis.[85]
- Using the description Rejoin EU Bring in PR
Personal life
Harvey is married to the actress Sarah Daykin;[9] they have two children.[10] Harvey's brother, Dan, an undiagnosed diabetic, died at the age of 43 from a hypoglycaemic coma.[9] Harvey is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.[7] He wrote a memoir, A Fan for All Seasons: A Journey Through Life (2023), about using sport to cope with grief.[7][9]
Books
- Binface, Count (2022). What On Earth?: An Alien's Guide to Fixing Britain. London: Quercus Editions. ISBN 9781529421651.
- Harvey, Jon (2023). A Fan for All Seasons: A Journey Through Life. London: Yellow Jersey Press. ISBN 9781787290587.[7]
