Losing his deposit

Posted by & filed under Life In London.

A reporter in Haltemprice & Howden just announced that one of the candidates “is afraid he’s going to lose his deposit.” I have no idea what that means, but it doesn’t sound like fun
***********
So far, there’s been a lot of focus on the Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat parties, but the BBC has been suspiciously silent on the real question of the evening: how is the Official Monster Raving Loony Party doing? I don’t remember how many votes they got in Sunderland South–I think it was about 150– but I can report that their candidate listened to the results wearing a giant inflatable innertube.
*********
Now they’re announcing the results from Rutherglen & Hamilton West, in Scotland. One thing I think the US should borrow from the Brits is having more of our results announced in rich Scottish burrs. This constituency also went for Labour. (There didn’t seem to be an Official Monster Raving Loony Party member standing for parliament in this borough, so I can’t tell you if the innertube is part of the party’s official uniform.)
*********
The American commentator has clearly lived in the UK for a while; apart from his in-depth knowledge of UK politics, he just said, “We’re not going to be banging on about the exit polls tonight”–I don’t think I’ve ever heard a fellow Yankee say “not going to be banging on about…”

2 Responses to “Losing his deposit”

  1. Kevin McCandless

    Ah – it means he didn’t get 5% percent of the vote and so has to forfeit the £500 that either he or his party paid to run. Sadly, I have no idea how this started.
    And in keeping with the spirit of this blog, Oona King, the only American citizen (or at least passport holder) in Parliament, get beat by George Galloway yesterday. Oh well – better luck next time.

  2. Duane

    “Losing your deposit”: In the UK elections anyone can stand for election, but to do so you must post a bond: your deposit. If you garner more than 5% of the vote you get it back, otherwise you lose it.
    This discourages too many frivolous candidates, while still allowing almost anyone to stand. I forget how much the deposit is, somewhere in the region of a few thousand pounds, I think.