Blur’s drummer, an Olympic medalist and Elmo: The famous faces who (mostly) failed to get elected | Politics news

Politics is show business for ugly people – that is the crude and perhaps unfair quote from the American political consultant Paul Begala.

Occasionally, however, famous faces from the world of entertainment and sports manage to find their way into the ruthless and underhanded world of politics.

Sometimes they are very successful – just think of the case of the late US actor Ronald Reagan or the former Pakistani cricket star Imran Khanwho both eventually ruled their respective countries.

In the UK, former actress Glenda Jackson, former GMTV presenter Esther McVey and Olympic gold medallist Sebastian Coe are among those who switched careers in the spotlight to become MPs.

This time, however, it was mostly a story of failure for the celebrities – and quasi-celebrities – who stood in the 2024 UK general election…

Dave Rowntree

The man with the sticks behind the drums in Britpop band Blur had hoped to become a Labour MP for the Conservative constituency of Mid Sussex.

Unlike some of his prominent competitors, the 60-year-old already had political experience. The drummer was successfully elected to the Labour district council in Norfolk in 2017 before stepping down in 2021.

Rowntree also stood as the party’s parliamentary candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster in 2010, but came second after being clearly defeated by the incumbent Tory.

The musician, fresh from Blur’s controversial main show At the US music festival Coachella, he had to admit defeat again and came third in Mid Sussex.

The seat was won by Liberal Democratsa gain over the Conservatives.

Rowntree received 9,397 votes – Labour’s vote share fell by a tiny 0.4 percent to 17.6 percent, suggesting that his candidacy did not have much impact on voters.

James Cracknell

Former rowing champion James Cracknell was introduced as Conservative candidate for Colchester last year.

The 52-year-old had high hopes of winning, having been widely known after winning gold medals in the coxless four at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, coupled with high-profile television appearances such as an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019.

The current MP in the constituency, the Tory Will Quince, who decided to resign In the 2024 election, it also had a comfortable majority of 9,000 votes over Labour.

However, Cracknell could only win a silver medal in this race, as he was defeated by Pam Cox of the Labour Party after she had clearly switched sides to her party.

He secured 10,554 votesThe Tories’ share of the vote fell by almost a third to 23.5%.

Marc Jenkins

Jenkins, another former Olympian, had hoped to be elected as MP for Gower in Wales.

As a Tory candidate in a constituency with considerable Work Since he won a majority in the last election, it was perhaps good that he had experience in fighting adversity.

The athlete suffered a cycling accident during the men’s triathlon in Athens in 2004. But instead of giving up, he ran 2 km to get his bike repaired before finally crossing the finish line last.

Despite his disappointing result, he was praised at the time for his determination to finish the race.

In this first political contest of his life, Jenkins came second behind Labour. 8,913 votesHowever, the Tories’ share of the vote in this constituency halved, falling by 21% to 18.9%.

Tom Gray

The Mercury Prize winner is perhaps best known as the co-founder of the indie rock band Gomez, but he has also written a number of music scores for television and theatre, and is also a political activist.

The composer achieved the remarkable feat of Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard to become Labour’s candidate for Brighton Pavilion last year.

However, he always had a difficult task to accomplish in this constituency, which Green Stronghold since 2005.

And indeed, the candidate of the environmentally oriented party, Sian Berry, was able to defend her seat on Thursday with 28,809 votes.

Gray can perhaps console himself with the fact that 14,519 people who supported him at the ballot box represented a vote share of 27.7% for Labour – an improvement of 5.1% compared to the last election there.

Read more:
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Josh Tapper

If you are not a fan of Channel 4’s hit program Google Boxyou may have never heard of Tapper.

However, the fresh-faced 26-year-old impressed his Labour colleagues so much that he was chosen as the party’s candidate to run against the (now former) Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden in Hertsmere, Hertfordshire.

Although the Tories managed to maintain their position, the party’s share of the vote fell by almost 20 percent.

Tapper finished second with 13,459 votes – a vote share of 28% and an improvement of 6.9% compared to the last election.

However, it seems that Reform UK is the main beneficiary of the Conservative There was a drop in votes in the constituency, with the party receiving a vote share of almost 14%.

Alison Hume

The screenwriter is known for creating the CBBC series The Sparticle Mystery and the 2005 BBC drama Rocket Man, and is also a trade unionist and disability activist.

Unlike many others on this list, she was successful in her fight for election and is now MP for Scarborough and Whitby.

Hume, which had previously been held by the Conservatives, won the seat back for Labour. 17,758 seatsThe party’s overall vote share rose by more than 5% to 40.2%.

Elmo

The audience Sir Keir StarmerDuring his victory speech in his London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras, a frighteningly large version of the lovable red Muppet character may have been seen in the background.

However, fans of the Sesame Street star may be disappointed to learn that it was not the one and only Elmo who was hoping for a seat on the green benches in the House of Commons, but fathers’ rights activist Bobby Smith.

The founder of the “Give Me Back Elmo” party often dresses up as this character to draw attention to his political beliefs.

He came last with 19 votes in the Labour stronghold.

Niko Omilana

The 26-year-old joker and comedian has an impressive seven million followers on YouTube and legions of fans worldwide.

He decided to run as an independent Rishi SunakRichmond and Northallerton constituency following an impressive performance in the 2021 London Mayoral Election.

Omilana secured almost 50,000 first votes in the capital and more than 75,000 Londoners chose him as their second preference.

There was Controversy ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections When it emerged that Niko Omilana was listed as a candidate in eleven constituencies.

Ultimately, his attempt to overthrow the former Tory leader was less successful than his appearance in the capital. received only 160 votes.

Count Binface

The space politician was the only independent candidate in the Parliamentary elections to secure the support of a national newspaper.

The Daily Star urged its readers in several front-page articles to vote for what it considered to be the “most sensible and honest” candidate in the country.

Formerly known as Lord Buckethead – until a copyright dispute forced him to change his name – the leader of the Recyclons has been a familiar face at key election counts in recent years.

This time he was in Mr Sunak’s North Yorkshire constituency and received 308 votes.

The Earl said his sixth-place finish was his “highest ever result” in an election and also secured the highest number of votes he has ever received in a general election.

The intergalactic space warrior also emphasized that he is also physically the strongest candidate, thanks largely to his space helmet.