This is not your usual Mehdi Hasan interview.
While the guest you see above may seem like a character from a kids’ show or an adult into some really weird cosplay, he is actually a candidate in the special election of Clacton-on-Sea in southeastern England. If you haven’t been living under a rock in the UK for the past few weeks, you’ll know his name is Count Binface, and he has a can full of ideas for defeating his opponent in the Clacton by-election on Thursday: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
“I thought if I came down in my true form, I might freak you out, you humans,” the space warrior tells Mehdi. Count Binface aims to break the mould of your usual British politician. His policies range from capping the price of Flake ice cream at 99p to forcing politicians who resign mid-parliament to face a by-election. “Everyone just needs to calm down a little. Maybe that’s how I come in.”
To be clear, this is not a joke - though, as you’ll see, Mehdi does struggle to keep a straight face throughout the interview.
Major parties in the UK have chosen to boycott the Clacton election and denounced the re-election bid from Farage, who quit parliament recently over investigations into his finances, as a political stunt. This, hilariously, bizarrely, has cleared a path for Count Binface and his cape to score a superhero landing in many major headlines around the world, with his silver face now seen almost everywhere. “He [Nigel Farage] made a false equivalence between a democratic mandate from Clacton and the results of a parliamentary inquiry into his financial affairs. I would say that’s going to come out in the wash,” Binface says.
Watch the full interview above to hear the Count’s stance on hand dryers in men’s toilets, whether the UK is considering changing the rules to allow him to keep his regalia on in the House of Commons chamber should he win and become an MP, and what he makes of the British mainstream media.
This video is being shared without a paywall. If you believe in the work we do and want to see more of it, do consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Check out more from Zeteo UK:
