Count Binface has taken on three PMs and lost – but could this be his best ever performance?

But the bar for entry remains fairly low: anyone over the age of 18 who can scrape together a £500 deposit and get support from 10 people in the form of signatures is allowed to stand as a candidate in UK elections.

That’s why Count Binface has been able to stand in so many high-profile elections. He has, however, lost his £500 every time, after failing to meet the minimum 5% of votes cast in order for his deposit to be returned.

Yet Binface has had his moment in the spotlight each time.

That is because another British tradition means all election candidates must stand side-by-side on a stage at the election count to hear how many votes they have each received – it’s a literal leveller, where everyone from prime minsters to a bloke dressed as a bin has the right to be seen and heard as an official candidate.

But all of these no-hope novelty candidates share a few serious aims: to poke fun at power, prick the pomposity of political elites, and allow people a protest vote.