Who voted for Count Binface and why?
PA MediaSelf-styled intergalactic space warrior Count Binface finished second in the Clacton-by-election on Thursday with 9,455 votes.
A record 34 candidates stood in the contest, but Binface and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage were the only contenders to secure more than 500 votes.
The other major UK parties boycotted the election, which was triggered by Farage's resignation as an MP in July.
Binface has stood in various high-profile elections around the country in recent years, before Clacton, his best result was 308 votes in the 2024 general election when he stood against then-prime minister Rishi Sunak in Richmond and Northallerton.
With more candidates on the ballot than ever before, why did 26.9% of voters choose a man wearing a bin?
First-time voter Ben Peters, 18, from Holland-on-Sea, said the election had been a "joke" since the start.
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He said: "It was a bit of a thrill, but at the same time it felt almost pointless because I knew that, no matter what I did, Farage was going to get back in to the seat.
Binface's policies had included nationalising Adele, moving a pub handryer in Uxbridge and enforcing a 99p price tag on ice creams with 99 flakes.
The 18-year-old said: "Even if it means voting for Count Binface and getting 99p ice creams for 99 flakes, that is one more step than Nigel Farage has ever done for Clacton."
While Alex Greenwood, from Thorpe-le-Soken, acknowledged some policies were "a bit silly," the 18-year-old argued there was an underlying logic to them.
The student said: "Nationalising Adele... all of Adele's song proceeds go to a private company which goes to shareholders and her songs are pretty much cultural icons.
"It's not actually that far-fetched... why not have all that money go to the government which could be used on the NHS and stuff."
Geenwood suggested his vote was partially a protest against Farage, whom he believes called the by-election to avoid scrutiny from the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
He added: "I do like Binface. I don't like Farage all that too much."
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