"Conservative candidate Jacob Rees-Mogg stands next to Barmy Brunch from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party during the declaration for the North East Somerset constituency at the University of Bath campus, on July 5, 2024, in Bath, England. Rees-Mogg lost his seat in the election."
One of the Photos of the Week at The Atlantic. credit: Finnbarr Webster / Getty
So Rees-Mogg lost, but did Barmy Brunch win? I couldn't find the answer. England has a pretty wild history of novelty candidates that don't win, but their antics get their pet issues some airtime. Count Binface being a classic perennial example. Who wouldn't want an independent space warrior as your leader...
ReplyDeleteDan Morris from Labour took his seat.
DeleteHere's a, long, video about counting UK election results. It includes an explanation about why one party can get more votes but fewer seats in parliament. He also happened to be the official count representative of Binface.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/K-hdJIWsK3A?si=wqS48JxgcHuXZjBq
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Binface
DeleteI mean, it's the same reason you can win the popular vote in the USA, but still lose the Presidential election.
DeleteHe didn't win, but got last place: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_East_Somerset_and_Hanham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVI5ZOT5QEM&ab_channel=CaptainWii64
ReplyDeletean old favorite :-)
DeleteOne of these two is a complete joke of a candidate whose very existence is a mockery of the way politics should function in a sane society. The other one wears a mask of baked beans and egg on his face.
ReplyDeleteThe UK has an insane election system where a party with 1/3 of the votes can get 2/3 of the seats in parliament where two other parties with roughly the same number of votes end up with 5 or 70 seats. This can not last because it is fundamentally undemocratic.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one brilliant element about UK democracy is that candidates must "stand" for election. And that is literal because they have to stand on a podium in some local gym or post office or city hall and be present when their election result is called. Those who do not win have to politely stand there while the winner reads their victory speech. That is democracy at its best - showing immediate civility when you lose.
And let's be clear. Jacob Reese-Mog, shown above here, lost just like that member of the monster raving loony party. The difference is that Jacob was not expecting to lose, because he mistakenly believes he is a member of a serious party, whereas his colleague from the monster raving loony party was expecting to lose and knows is not a member of a serious party.
Furthermore, this announcement is during the night after the elections, final, and the winner becomes an MP as they stand there.
If they are new to parliament, the next thing they have to do is go to London to occupy their new office in Westminster Palace. If they (unexpectedly) lose, like our friend Jacob here, they also have to go to London to make sure their office is empty the next morning to the new MP to move in.
Fun note, there is no MP on the platform because during UK elections, parliament is dissolved and its members are no longer MPs.