You have to admire someone who can go through the rigors of a political campaign, lose, and be able to shake it off and get on with life. What about a man who loses again and again and again?
David Sutch aspired to make a name for himself, so he legally changed his name to Screaming Lord Sutch, Third Earl of Harrow. Under that name he developed a following as a musician. He was known for his entrances where he was carried onstage in a coffin, used skulls for props, and dressed as Jack the Ripper.
Being a self-declared lord and a rock star was not enough for Hutch; he wanted to make a name for himself in politics. He did, but not in the way he probably intended.
In 1963 Sutch stood for election for a seat in the British House of Commons as a candidate for the National Teenage Party. His slogan was “Vote for Insanity — You Know it Makes Sense.” It made sense to the 208 people who voted for him, but apparently for no one else. He finished fifth out of five candidates.
Sutch did markedly better the next year in his second campaign. Running for Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s seat, he conned convinced 518 voters to cast their ballots for him, but only coming in 18th place out of 22 candidates.
In 1970 and 1974 he campaigned as a candidate for the Young Ideas Party and the Go to Blazes Party, respectively, again earning bottom spots in the polls.
In 1983 he launched the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and began a series of 36 campaigns as its standard bearer. His best showing was on May 5, 1994, when he earned 1,114 votes in his campaign for the Rotherham seat, which constituted 4.2% of the vote, earning him fourth place out of five candidates.
All told, Sutch campaigned in forty elections, his last one being on November 20, 1997 — just eighteen months before his death at age 58. His status as a perennial candidate status may not have gained him a seat in the House of Commons, but it did earn him a record for losing the most elections.
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