Lord Buckethead is a satirical political candidate who has stood in four British

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s since 1987, portrayed by several individuals. He poses as an intergalactic villain similar to the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' character Darth Vader. Lord Buckethead was created by the American filmmaker Todd Durham for his 1984 science fiction film ''Hyperspace''. Without authorisation, the British video distributor Mike Lee adopted Lord Buckethead to stand in the 1987 UK general election and again in the 1992 general election. The character went unused until the comedian Jonathan Harvey stood as Lord Buckethead in the

2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

; his televised appearance standing next to prime minister Theresa May went

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

, drawing media coverage and an online following. After the 2017 election, Durham asserted his ownership of Lord Buckethead and displaced Harvey. With Durham's authorisation, Lord Buckethead returned in 2019, now played by David Hughes. He appeared at People's Vote rallies calling for a second Brexit referendum, and stood in the 2019 general election representing the

Monster Raving Loony Party The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP) is a political party established in the United Kingdom in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, also known as "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", or simply "Lord Sutch". It is notable for its ...

. Harvey continued to campaign using his own character,

Count Binface Count Binface is a satirical political candidate created by British comedian Jonathan Harvey in 2018. He was a candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the 2019 United Kingdom general election against prime minister Boris Johnson. He also sto ...

History

1980s origins

Lord Buckethead was created by the American filmmaker Todd Durham for his 1984 film ''Hyperspace'', a low-budget parody of science fiction films such as ''

''. In the film, Lord Buckethead, a galactic villain similar to ''Star Wars'' character Darth Vader, was played by Robert Bloodworth. In the UK, ''Hyperspace'' was released as ''Gremloids'' by the video distributor VIPCO, owned by Mike Lee. In the 1987 UK general election, Lee stood as Lord Buckethead, representing the Gremloids Party, against Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher in her constituency in Finchley, London. He campaigned to demolish Birmingham to make way for a spaceport. He received 131 votes. In the 1992 general election, he stood against Conservative prime minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

in Huntingdon, winning 107 votes (0.1%).

2017 return

In 2017, comedian Jonathan Harvey stood as Lord Buckethead against Theresa May in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

in the

. Harvey decided to use Lord Buckethead after watching ''Gremloids'' and discovering that the character had been used in earlier elections. He received 249 (0.4%) votes, the highest yet for the character. Lord Buckethead's televised appearance standing next to May went

. In a tongue-in-cheek article, '' The Guardian'' gave Lord Buckethead a "Best Policy" award for a

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

pledge to bring back Ceefax. A few days after the election, Lord Buckethead appeared on the American talk show ''

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in April 2014 on HBO. ''Last Wee ...

'', campaigning to lead the Brexit negotiations. Harvey created a Twitter account for the character, drawing hundreds of thousands of followers. ''The Guardian'' wrote that Lord Buckethead was part of a British tradition of frivolous political candidates, many of whom were supported by the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. Lord Buckethead made a surprise appearance at

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in June 2017, introducing the band Sleaford Mods. That year, he released a Christmas single, "A Bucketful of Happiness", accompanied by a music video.

Copyright dispute

After the 2017 election, Durham contacted Harvey and asserted his ownership of the Lord Buckethead character. According to Harvey, Durham instructed him to give him the password to the Twitter account; Harvey acquiesced as he could not afford a legal challenge. Durham said he welcomed authorised applications to stand as the character in future British elections: "My Lord Buckethead character has always been the voice of the people, so my feeling is to let the people be his voice." The Twitter account became active again in 2019. That year, Lord Buckethead, now played by David Hughes, appeared at People's Vote rallies calling for a

second Brexit referendum A referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement, also referred to as a "second referendum", a "rerun", a "people's vote", or a "confirmatory public vote", was proposed by a number of politicians and pressure groups as a way to break the deadlock ...

. In April, Buckethead crowdfunded £15,000 to stand against Nigel Farage for South East England MEP in the May 2019 European Parliament Elections. The bid was abandoned for fear it could take votes away from parties campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU. Durham said the money was returned. For the general election in December 2019, Buckethead represented the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, standing against prime minister Boris Johnson in his constituency of

Uxbridge and South Ruislip Uxbridge and South Ruislip is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The seat has been held by the Conservative Party since its 2010 creation. Since 2015 it has been represented by Boris J ...

. Harvey also stood in that constituency, using a new character,

Platform

Lord Buckethead's manifesto in the 2017 election promised "strong, not entirely stable leadership", a reference to the Conservatives' slogan "

strong and stable "Strong and stable" or "strong and stable leadership" was a phrase often used by the British Prime Minister Theresa May in the run up to the 2017 United Kingdom general election. The slogan was criticised often by opponents of May, for its perce ...

". The following promises were included: *The abolition of the House of Lords, with the exception of Lord Buckethead *

Nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

: "A firm public commitment to build the 100-billion-pound renewal of Britain's Trident weapons system, followed by an equally firm commitment, privately, not to build it. They're secret submarines, so no one will ever know. It's a win-win." *Free bicycles for all to "combat obesity, traffic congestion, and bike theft". *Reducing the voting age to 16 and restricting voting beyond the age of 80 *Instead of Theresa May's commitment to bring back grammar schools, Buckethead would build "gamma" schools founded on three principles: "One, better funding for teachers, to attract bright graduates. Two, increased facilities for children, especially playing fields. Three, if any child misbehaves three times, they are blasted into deep space, with the parents provided with a lovely fruit basket, by way of consolation or celebration, depending on the child. Discipline is key". *A referendum on whether or not to have another

Brexit referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...

. *Legalise the hunting of fox hunters * Nationalise pop singer Adele *Exile of right-wing columnist Katie Hopkins to the " Phantom Zone". *Regeneration of Nicholson's Shopping Centre,

. *The cessation of arms sales to Saudi Arabia so that Britain can purchase laser weaponry from Lord Buckethead.

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Lord Buckethead with John Major, 1992
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckhead, Lord Anonymity pseudonyms English politicians British political candidates Film characters introduced in 1984 Fictional characters from parallel universes Fictional lords and ladies Science fiction film characters British political satire