In a bid to scupper the attempt of Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), to be elected MP for South Thanet in Kent, left-of-centre comedian Al Murray will stand for the seat in the May general election. He is doing so in his not-quite-far-right nationalistic alter ego, “The Pub Landlord”, as a candidate for the Free United Kingdom Party (FUKP).
The Pub Landlord is a spoof loudmouth caricature of a white English working-class male putting the world to rights with UKIP-like views on reducing immigration and leaving the EU. (Comment by David Todd: Yes – this type really exists and there is one down at one of your correspondent’s local pubs). In a clear reference to the habits and traits of Farage, Murray in Pub Landlord guise stated, with his tongue firmly in his cheek: “It seems to me that the UK is ready for a bloke waving a pint around, offering common sense solutions.” Murray added: “Let it be known that, like many of the parliamentary hopefuls in the forthcoming election, I have no idea where South Thanet is. But did that stop Margaret Thatcher from saving the Falkland Islands? No.”
On Murray’s posters/website the “Guvnor’s” chivalrous promises include: “Standing up for what matters: pregnant ladies and old people.” 🙂
The danger for Nigel Farage, who is favourite to win the constituency, is that the amusing and likable Murray might actually draw off enough votes from Farage to let another candidate sneak in. This is especially true if some of the electorate confuse the satirical views of Murray’s Pub Landlord with reality. This famously happened with Warren Mitchell’s spoof racially bigoted character, Alf Garnett, in the 1960s television comedy “Till Death Do Us Part” which some took seriously at the time. For the time being, Nigel Farage has put a brave face on his new rival’s arrival. He said via Twitter: “At last, serious competition in the constituency,” before adding: “The more, the merrier!”
So, with its copycat UKIP up-turned pound logo, just what are FUKP’s policies? Beer will be priced at just 1p a pint. The UK pound will be revalued to £1.10 to make it worth 10p more. Greece will be bought and operated by Kent County Council. The channel tunnel will be bricked up. And the UK will leave Europe by 2025 and the edge of the solar system by 2050. On spaceflight Murray further promises: “The other parties offer a moon on a stick. We’ll do better than that: a British moon on a British stick.”
All sounds good so far. 🙂 There is, of course, one problem with jokers in politics. They tend to get elected.
