The Bill and Ben Party was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

joke political party A frivolous party or a joke party is a political party which has been created for the purposes of entertainment or political satire. Such a party may or may not have a serious point behind its activities. This is a list of frivolous political par ...

formed in 2008 and voluntarily deregistered in 2010. The party's leaders were Jamie Linehan and

Ben Boyce Ben Boyce is a New Zealand television and radio personality and comedian best known as the host of TV shows '' Pulp Sport'', '' WANNA-BEn'' and ''Jono and Ben'' on TV3. Biography Boyce is a graduate of the New Zealand Broadcasting School at ...

("Bill" and Ben) of the TV3 satirical sports show '' Pulp Sport''. In the 2008 general election the party secured 0.56% of the vote, outpolling every other party not in parliament prior to the election (

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...

, a party in parliament prior to the election, failed to gain representation in the subsequent parliament).Elections.govt.nz
/ref> It gained the ninth-highest number of votes out of the 19 parties standing for election. As a joke political party, it shared a rich and varied heritage with the former

McGillicuddy Serious Party The McGillicuddy Serious Party (McGSP) was a satirical political party in New Zealand in the late 20th century. Between 1984 and 1999, it provided "colour" to ensure that citizens not take the political process too seriously. The party's logo, t ...

and

Imperial British Conservative Party The Imperial British Conservative Party was a farcical political party founded by The Wizard of New Zealand in 1974. It "stood for the traditions of British imperialism in the face of capitalism, globalisation and the distinct lack of cultur ...

, both humorous political entities that contested New Zealand general elections from the 1970s until the late 1990s. On 1 July 2008 the party applied for registration with the Electoral Commission, which would allow it to contest the party vote. The party was registered by the Electoral Commission on 29 July 2008. On 31 July 2008 the party applied to register a logo with the Electoral Commission. The party states that it managed to secure its required 500 members for Electoral Act registration after locating the requisite number of inebriated university students outside a student drinking establishment.

2008 general election

For the 2008 general election, the party chose not to apply for the $10,000 in advertising money that all political parties are entitled to. It felt this was a waste of taxpayer's money, and self-funded its advertising. This also meant that it did not qualify for a TVNZ Political Party Opening Address. It stood on a "no policies, no promises, no disappointment" platform and had the slogan "We're putting the party back in political party". It is understood New Zealand First Leader

Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician serving as the leader of New Zealand First since its foundation in 1993. Peters served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1996 to 1998 and 2017 to 2020, ...

took exception to one of its election signs, which used the phrase "C'mon, you voted Winston in". In the election on 8 November, the party secured 13,016 votes (0.56% of votes),Chief Electoral Office: Official Count Results: Overall Status
allowing a refund of the $1000 party registration fee. It put the money on the bar in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

as it received more votes from there than anywhere else. Even though it was a joke political party, it out-polled all but one party (

) that did not gain representation in the last election, including every other new party: the

New Zealand Pacific Party The New Zealand Pacific Party was a Christianity, Christian political party that existed in New Zealand from 2008 to 2010. The party was founded as a vehicle for former New Zealand Labour Party, Labour MP Taito Phillip Field, who was subsequentl ...

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The Family Party The Family Party was a political party in New Zealand. It described itself as a Christian party.Workers Party and the

Residents Action Movement The Residents Action Movement (or RAM) was a political party in New Zealand. RAM described itself as "a mass membership, broad left, grassroots movement of social change". Its national chair was Grant Morgan and its co-leaders were Oliver Woods ...

. It gained the ninth-highest number of votes out of the 19 parties in the election, and would have earned a seat if there had been no electoral threshold. It spent NZ$3,777 on advertising, $0.29 per vote, making it the most effective party in terms of dollars per vote. Due to the way that

mixed member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...

works, had the party crossed the minimum 5% threshold required to be admitted to parliament without an electorate seat, the total number of MPs would have been reduced by about four (an " underhang"). This is because 5% of the vote would entitle it to approximately six MPs but it had only two candidates (Bill and Ben) on its party list. However, the underhang would have partially been cancelled out by the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

's overhang, having won five electorate seats when entitled to only three by the party vote.

2009 Mount Albert by-election

Ben stood in the Mount Albert by-election on 13 June 2009 and secured 151 votes (0.76% of the vote), coming fifth. This is an improvement on the 0.38% party vote obtained in Mt Albert at the 2008 election. He out-polled the candidate from

United Future New Zealand United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a centrist political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside Labour (2005–2008) and then supporting National (2008–2017). U ...

, a former MP, and every other micro party and independent candidate, including the

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), also known as the Cannabis Party, is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to removing or reducing restrictions on the use of cannabis and similar substances. Party history Cannabis in New ...

and

Deregistration

On 17 March 2010 the party applied to the Electoral Commission to be deregistered, which took effect on 29 April 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bill And Ben Party Defunct political parties in New Zealand Political parties established in 2008 Political parties disestablished in 2010 Joke political parties in New Zealand