Screaming out for a touch of Loony power. . .
Screaming Lord David Sutch is the longest serving political leader in the country and has contested the most elections. The Winchester re-run is the 43rd time the life president of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party has thrown his hat into the electoral ring. His party claims to have a Loony deputy mayor and six councillors but Lord Sutch (57) who is married with one child, has yet to keep his deposit. But Loony party campaign manager, Peter Byford, also known an Uncle Belly, is confident Screaming Lord Sutch will be the next Winchester MP.
He said: “We are going to win it hands down. The Winchester people want a Loony in power. No doubt about it.”
Before launching the Loony Party at Bermondsey by-election in 1983, Screaming Lord Sutch stood in four elections as The National Teenage Party and the Go to Blazes Party.
He started life as a musician, entering politics in the “swinging sixties” when he called for the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18. Other Loony platforms which have now become mainstream, include scrapping the 11-plus, all-day opening for pubs and commercial radio stations. Mr Byford said: “Being Loony is commonsense. Everything we push for is commonsense. We don’t get bogged down in the detail.”
It remains to be seen what happens to the Loony proposal for bed sharing in the NHS “to reduce costs and bring some enjoyment to being ill.”
Or the call for a return to the four Rs, “Reading, Writing, Rock and Roll.” Or indeed replacing the Ecu with the Yahoo, “featuring a picture of prime minister in waiting, Screaming Lord Sutch.”
The Loony Party headquarters is at the Albion Inn, in Stockbridge Road, Winchester.