Hartlepool is just the gift that keeps on giving. First there was Paul Williams’ love for older women of a conservative disposition and then there was the Northern Independence party’s meme-tastic bid for a Northumbrian republic. Now Reform UK have topped their ‘in out, shake it all about’ routine with Richard Tice by instead naming John Prescott as their candidate for the by election with polling day scheduled for 6 May.
Unfortunately their candidate is not the jaguar-driving, protestor-punching former deputy prime minister but a ‘proud father’ and ‘self-employed businessman’ who just happens to share the same name. A source involved with the campaign told Steerpike they were hoping Prescott only resembled the onetime Labour MP in packing ‘an electoral punch’ rather than croquet-playing recreation during office hours.
So how effective will such a tactic be? Mr S recalls the 1982 Glasgow Hillhead contest at which one candidate renamed themselves Roy Jenkins forcing supporters of the former Home Secretary to wear sandwich boards outside polling stations reading ‘the real Roy Jenkins is number 5.’ Dark arts master Damian McBride has been quick to weigh in, tweeting today that: ‘My old boss Congressman Thomas C Sawyer always went by plain ‘Tom Sawyer’ on the ballot – it was worth several thousand votes in name recognition. This alternative Prezza could cause havoc.’
Steerpike suspects it is not the first time Labour have had cause to regret their association with Prescott…
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