An illustrious trio at the Makersfield elections: Count Binface, Andy Burnham and Robert Pownall in fox costume.Image: keystone
June 19, 2026, 11:12 amJune 19, 2026, 11:13 am
Andy Burnham is the new shooting star of British politics. The Labor politician won the by-election in the Makerfield district and could soon challenge Keir Starmer for the post of Prime Minister. Along the way, Burnham had to eliminate two unusual competitors: a trash can knight and a fox.
Count Binface congratulates Andy Burnham on his victory.Image: keystone
Burnham also stood between these two when the election results were announced, which made for memorable photos. Shortly afterwards, the foxman caused unrest when he briefly interrupted Burnham’s victory speech to demonstrate for animal protection.
But who is under the costumes? The Trash Can Knight is the comedian Jonathan David Harvey, who appears in costume under the name “Count Binface”. Harvey says he is an “independent space warrior” and has run in a variety of elections. He has been a member of the Count Binface party since 2023. His satirical political proposals include nationalizing the singer Adele, banning noisy snacks in cinemas and renaming London Bridge to Phoebe Waller Bridge.
“Count Binface” during an interview with the “Sky” broadcaster.Image: keystone
Meanwhile, Robert Pownall, an independent candidate and animal rights activist, is in the fox costume. His reason for his political activity: “Because I simply don’t trust this government to do anything for the animals.” Pownall also always showed up in Makersfield with a sign saying “Protect British Wildlife”. His political career is now much younger than that of his trash-clad opponent: it was only this year that he ran for parliament for the first time.
A man of many faces: Robert Pownall poses with a gannet costume at a general election in Edinburgh.Image: keystone
The situation was correspondingly clear in the election in Makerfield: “Count Binface” got 95 votes, leaving Fox well behind with his 18 votes. But both of them were missing a lot from Burnham: the Labor man got 24,927 votes. (dab)