Talk:Count Binface

On 04/05/26 Jonathon Harvey was on Radio 4's Great Lives proposing Peter Cook, and while being introduced he claimed the votes on Industry. ~2026-27068-76 (talk) 14:37, 4 May 2026 (UTC) Reply

The article could benefit from a better description of Count Binface's costume. Including, but also besides, the bucket itself. Practically, is he wearing armour? In which case, should he win, would attending parliament cause him to contravene the Statute forbidding Bearing of Armour? -- ~2026-34590-40 (talk) 15:28, 8 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

I don't think that his 'armour' is actually functional, so I don't think that it would apply. ~2026-44415-33 (talk) 15:32, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Regardless of whether or not it would apply journalist oobah butler has in the past successfully demonstrated that that is no longer enforced and apparently there's also some discussion about changing the mandate ~2026-44403-42 (talk) 16:00, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Given the bookmakers seem to have him in at a >10% chance of winning, perhaps the Count is no longer a novelty candidate.

I propose that the description is updated to reflect that he actually might win in the upcoming by election. ~2026-38795-96 (talk) 15:30, 8 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

I see quite a few sources that consider he's got a chance to win the election, but few of them (if any) regard his campaign as anything else but satire. The two are not mutually exclusive. Renerpho (talk) 09:06, 10 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Sources still call him a novelty candidate. Cortador (talk) 13:58, 13 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

He clearly runs as a novelty candidate who proposes joke policies. That he has some small change of winning doesn't change that. Lamoebas (talk) 11:09, 14 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

A novelty candidate is a candidate that is satirical and humorous instead of truly seeking election and power. Even if one happens to have a shot at winning it does not make the candidate any less novel or satirical. Finfixer (talk) 18:33, 16 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

That the novelty candidate has a chance of winning, to me, says more about the landscape of other candidates, than it does about this candidate's behaviour. One can wonder whether this Count Binface campaign is really all that different from previous ones. What is different from previous campaigns, is that only one out of the 34 candidates has a higher profile than him. ~2026-40393-04 (talk) 11:58, 18 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

On 17 July 2026 BBC News, which is of course a reliable source, described Count Binface in the reference as a "joke candidate". I would have no objections if Binface is described in this article as a "joke candidate" as per the BBC News reference.^[1] Kind Tennis Fan (talk) 01:41, 19 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

That is what he is, but novelty candidate is the academic term for a candidate such as him. "Joke candidate" you see could also be read as saying the person, not the character being played, is a joke. By using "official" terminology we avoid making a judgement, that could be misinterpreted, on the matter in wikivoice. Saing that some sources call him a "joke candidate" is of course a different thing. So no, I don't think we should say that in wikivoice. Finfixer (talk) 14:32, 19 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Count Binface has long-standing and well established policy proposals on Ceefax, nationalizing Adele ^[1] or building at least one affordable house. This could usefully complement this article 😬. Teolemon (talk) 10:43, 10 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

@Teolemon Those policies have been listed in the article for several years. Shantavira|^{feed me} 14:23, 10 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Dying of a hypoglycemic coma seems unlikely for someone with undiagnosed diabetes, which would cause hyperglycemia. I know that’s what the article said, but it’s almost certainly incorrect unless he actually was on insulin or some other therapy, or there was some other cause of hypoglycemia not related to diabetes. Diabetes causes HIGH blood sugar, the hypoglycemic coma is caused by LOW blood sugar, most often from the medications such as insulin. ~2026-40809-47 (talk) 18:47, 21 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

If there is a change you wish to make, it is unclear. According to the source cited in the article, "Harvey found the body of his older brother, Dan, 43, in his London flat. Obese and an undiagnosed diabetic, he had fallen into a hypoglycaemic coma."

This is what the source reports, and we are not able report a different cause of death unless sources suggest one. Crtbob (talk) 21:34, 21 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Quite agree. Dan must have died of hyperglycaemia as only a diagnosed diabetic on insulin could have a low sugar = hypoglycaemia.

please correct to " died of hyperglycaemic coma" Gavin L Young (talk) 13:03, 23 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

I appreciate your input, but don't believe it to be possible to make this change unless backed by a source. All the sources I found on the matter called it either either a hypoglycemic coma or simply diabetes. I'm not saying that I believe you are incorrect, but it's not possible to change the cause of death unless it can be verified by means of a reliable source. Crtbob (talk) 14:58, 23 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Perhaps we coud just leave out the word "hypoglycemic"? Maybe "died at the age of 43 after falling into a coma"? The inference is still that it's diabetes related, but without the erroneous detail. This isn't a medical article after all. Alansplodge (talk) 16:56, 23 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Thank you for the suggestion. That seems like a good compromise. Crtbob (talk) 12:06, 24 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Actually, why are we mentioning what happened to the brother at all? They're not a notable person, and it really doesn't have any relevance to this encyclopaedic topic. Canterbury Tail talk 17:21, 24 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Harvey has talked about the significant impact this event (his brother's death) has had on him, so it's certainly relevant. See for instance The Times 26.6.24 BobBadg (talk) 19:32, 1 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

We have a dispute as to whether the label "political activist" or "democracy advocate" could applies to Binface. We see the label "politician" being used applied to many articles about novelty candidates. In addition to launching a populist manifesto, Binface has stated inter alia: "My job is to celebrate and defend the wonders of British democracy". Can we not take that assertion, together with his other pronouncements/manifesto pledges as a badge of political activism or advocate of democracy? Do we need/have to be literal as to find a source that uses that exact terminology? Ohc ^{revolution of our times} 08:44, 30 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

As a couple of us said over at WP:RSN, this is WP:OR (and probably POV too). — Czello ^(music) 08:46, 30 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

How do RS describe him? Untill recently I seem to recall it was "joke candidate". Slatersteven (talk) 14:34, 30 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

Is count binface a serious politician worth voting for or just there as a joke? ~2026-42569-96 (talk) 19:34, 1 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Hi,

This page is intended for discussing improvements to the Count Binface article, and is not a forum for general discussion of the subject matter. Wikipedia is neutral, and whether Binface is worth voting for is for you to decide. ~ crtbob (talk • contribs • talk) 19:44, 1 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Yesterday I made an edit adding a definition of "bin" for American readers, and it was reverted immediately by an editor as "not needed." As evidence it is in fact needed for American readers, consider the headline from this piece in The New York Times: ("Can a Man with a Trash Can on His Head Save Britain?") The word "bin" is simply not intelligible to American readers, who almost universally use the words "trash can" for the same object. Dh10~enwiki (talk) 12:22, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Do Wikipedia articles written in American English interrupt the prose to explain what American words mean for non-American readers? Popcornfud (talk) 12:33, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

So don't make it a parenthetical interruption: explain it in a full, standalone sentence lower down. Should this be done in cases where there is substantial difference between different English usages? I'd say yes, when the vocabulary is central to understanding a bit of word play being used by the subject of the article. Dh10~enwiki (talk) 12:38, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

The lead sentence could use a wikilink for readers who want to learn more about bins, I'll add one.

The article body may benefit more generally from describing the helmet design in more detail, saying that it's modelled after a now largely obsolete metal dustbin, but I don't think a full, standalone sentence is needed purely for American readers, who will be stumped by many terms and concepts in this article (eg. by-elections, general elections, estate agents, most of the Count's pledges), but can click the links. Belbury (talk) 12:50, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

The word "dustbin" (which redirects to Waste receptacle) is linked further down the article. We could just link "bin-shaped" in the first sentence to Waste receptacle, giving a link for anyone who doesn't understand it whilst not assuming that most people in the USA are incapable of understanding it. Black Kite (talk) 12:54, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Thanks to both of you -- good compromise. This article will be of substantial interest to American political junkies who fully understand the idea of general and by-elections ("special elections" here) but may well struggle with "bin." The initial link helps a lot. Dh10~enwiki (talk) 13:06, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

There should be a comma after the "Have I Got News For You" in the section that says "has worked as a scriptwriter for the satirical television programmes The Thick of It, Have I Got News for You and Time Trumpet.[7]" Danielthecake (talk) 19:02, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

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keep in mind that you can edit this article yourself once you've made at least 10 edits and had this account for at least 4 days consarn _{(talk beige) (count ribs)} 19:15, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Oxford commas are optional for British English? But yes, some people might think there's a programme called Have I Got News for You and Time Trumpet" (?) Martinevans123 (talk) 21:06, 12 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

MOS:OXFORD allows either, so long as the article is consistent. Which is currently isn't; outside of quotations we've also got Bryan Talbot, Dave McKean, and Steven Appleby but also Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.

The foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, and Green leader Zack Polanski criticised Farage's resignation could also be phrased less ambiguously.

("Have I Got News for You and Time Trumpet" would require a misreading on the reader's part, as the and is not italicised.) Belbury (talk) 08:25, 13 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Currently:

• he promised free broadband for all, and London Bridge would be renamed Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

This suggests that the bridge renaming will happen anyway, and falls outside of what was "promised". Consider:

• he promised free broadband for all, and that London Bridge would be renamed Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

~2026-44332-37 (talk) 10:56, 13 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Done Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 11:09, 13 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

There are numerous instances in the current election section where last names of politicians are mentioned without anything saying who they are. PizzaJulian (talk) 01:45, 14 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

The Count Binface Party, should be a seperate page.

It has contested multiple elections and has gained notability from these elections due to contesting. shane (talk to me if you want!) 04:11, 14 August 2026 (UTC) Reply

Oppose per WP:NOPAGE. All the info on the Binface party can be effectively summarised on this page, no need for a separate page. Popcornfud (talk) 04:20, 14 August 2026 (UTC) Reply