A candidate in the upcoming Selby & Ainsty by-election is demanding a ban on Greyhound racing “to stop the country going to the dogs.”

The call has come from Sir Archibald Stanton, the candidate representing The Official Monster Raving Loony Party.

The self-described “West Yorkshire toff” says he was educated at “Eaton- Earlsheaton that is Dewsbury WF12.”

The by-election, called following the resignation of former government minister Nigel Adams, is Sir Archibald’s second by-election. He stood in Wakefield in 2022, finishing 10th out of 15, on  172 votes, or 0.6% of the total.

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He told the Press: “You may have never voted before. But what if there was a Party dedicated to fun. There is. The OMRLP puts the fun back into politics with a guaranteed victory party even before the voting commences. Voting Loony is a way of saying to the other major parties:You’re boring! They won’t like this.”

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party was founded in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, known as Screaming Lord Sutch, who died in 1999. The party has around 1,400 members and its current leader is Alan “Howling Laud” Hope.

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Its current policies include:
*Ban greyhound racing- this will stop the Country going to the dogs
*Introduce retirement for all hard working people at 55 years of age
*Free dental treatment for ALL pensioners
* Pensions to be fixed at 100% of MP’s salaries(except for retired politicians, “who’ve already bled the Country dry.”
*Incorporate Income Tax into the National Lottery so at least you stand a chance of winning your money back
*Be able to challenge Politicians to prove that they have done what they said they were going to do in their election manifesto
*Have the right to vote for The Prime Minister

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Sir Archibald says voters must remember candidates will try to buy your vote with your own money, whereas his party only wants to borrow it for ‘the day.’ They are urged to look for the Top Hat on the ballot paper and to vote for him. A wasted vote is one that is unused, and his party is the only official one, as all the others are unofficial.

He added: “Let’s shake them up. All you disillusioned people out there who are fed up with the same old faces, same old policies, same broken old promises- isn’t it time we told them what we think of them. Here’s how it can be done. Vote Loony you know it makes sense!”

The deadline for candidates to submit their nominations for the by-election, due to be held on Thursday July 20, is today (Friday).

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Other candidates so far include Claire Holmes (Conservative), Arnold Warneken (Green), Mike Jordan (Yorkshire Party), Keir Mather (Labour), David Kent (Reform UK), Matt Walker (Lib-Dem) and Tyler Callum Wilson-Kerr (Independent).