Wikipedia

Howling Laud Hope

Alan Hope (born 16 June 1942), known politically as Howling Laud Hope, is a British politician and former publican who is the current Leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP). On the death of the party's founder Screaming Lord Sutch in 1999, Hope and his pet cat, Catmando, were jointly elected as leaders of the OMRLP. Since June 2002 Hope has been the party's sole leader following Catmando's death in a road accident.[1]

Howling Laud Hope
Hope in 2010
Leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
1999
Serving with Catmando (1999–2002)
DeputyNick The Flying Brick
Preceded byScreaming Lord Sutch
Mayor of Ashburton
In office
1998–2000
Personal details
Born
Alan Hope

(1942-06-16) 16 June 1942 (age 82)
Mytchett, Surrey, England
Political partyOfficial Monster Raving Loony Party

Hope was the first-ever OMRLP candidate to be elected to public office, when he was elected unopposed to a seat on Ashburton Town Council in Devon in 1987.[2] He subsequently became the Mayor of Ashburton in 1998.[3][4][5]

In 2010 Hope was elected unopposed to Fleet Town Council in Hampshire. Hope's longtime friendship with satirist Jacob M. Appel formed the basis for the latter's novel, The Biology of Luck, which is reportedly an allegory for modern British politics.[6][7]

Biography

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Hope was known as Kerry Rapid and The Soultones when he was a back-up singer for rock and roll performer Screaming Lord Sutch in the 1960s. As Leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, Sutch made Hope the party's Deputy Chairman in 1982. Hope subsequently became the party's Chairman and Deputy Leader, before becoming Leader following Sutch's death in 1999.

As an OMRLP candidate, Hope was elected unopposed to Ashburton Town Council in Devon in 1987. This caused a dilemma in the party as it had previously been decided that any member who was elected to a public office should be expelled from the party. This rule was changed at the 1987 Party Conference to allow Hope to remain a member and official representative of the party. He later rose to become Deputy Mayor, before being made Mayor of Ashburton in 1998.

Hope is the only OMRLP candidate to have been elected to public office,[8] although an ex-member, Stuart Hughes, won a seat on East Devon District Council for the Raving Loony Green Giant Party in 1991.[9]

Hope's pub and guesthouse in Ashburton, The Golden Lion, was the OMRLP's Party Headquarters and conference centre from 1984 until 2000, after which he sold the property and moved to Hampshire. There he took over the Dog and Partridge public house at Yateley until 2011, which served as the new party headquarters.[10]

Upon Sutch's death in 1999, Hope and his pet cat Catmando were elected as joint leaders of the OMRLP.[11] Catmando served until his death as a result of a traffic accident in July 2002, whereupon Hope became the sole leader of the party.[12]

In 2003, Hope appeared on Top Gear during the second episode of series 2. In its challenge searching for 'Britain's fastest Political Party', he came in last.

Elections contested

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Year Election Constituency Votes % Place Misc Ref
1983 General election Teignbridge 241 0.5% 4th of 4 [13]
1987 General election Teignbridge 312 0.6% 4th of 4 [14]
1987 Town council Ashburton n.a. n.a. 1st of 1 Uncontested election
1992 General election Teignbridge 437 0.7% 4th of 4 [15]
1999 By-election Eddisbury 238 0.7% 4th of 6 [16]
1999 By-election Kensington and Chelsea 20 0.1% 17th of 18 Lowest ever number of votes [16]
2001 General election Aldershot 390 0.9% 7th of 7 [17]
2003 By-election Brent East 59 0.3% 13th of 16 [18]
2004 By-election Hartlepool 80 0.3% 12th of 14 [18]
2005 General election Aldershot 553 1.1% 6th of 6 Best result in a general election [19]
2006 By-election Bleanau Gwent 318 1.2% 6th of 6 [20]
2007 By-election Sedgefield 129 0.5% 10th of 11 [20]
2009 By-election Norwich North 144 0.4% 9th of 12 [21]
2010 General election Witney 234 0.3% 6th of 10 [22]
2010 Town council election Fleet n.a. n.a. 1st of 1 Uncontested election [23]
2011 By-election Barnsley Central 198 0.8% 8th of 9 [24]
2011 By-election Leicester South 553 1.6% 5th of 5 Highest ever percentage of votes [25]
2012 By-election Bradford West 111 0.3% 8th of 8 [26]
2012 By-election Manchester Central 78 0.5% 10th of 12 [27]
2013 By-election South Shields 197 0.8% 8th of 9 [28]
2014 By-election Clacton 127 0.4% 7th of 8 [29]
2015 General election Uxbridge and South Ruislip 72 0.2% 8th of 13 [30][31]
2016 By-election Tooting 54 0.2% 7th of 14 [32]
2016 By-election Richmond Park 184 0.5% 4th of 8 [33]
2017 General election Maidenhead 119 0.2% 9th of 13 [34]
2018 By-election Lewisham East 93 0.4% 9th of 14 [35]
2019 By-election Peterborough 112 0.3% 10th of 15 [36]
2019 General election North East Hampshire 576 1.0% 6th of 6 Highest ever number of votes [37]
2021 By-election Batley and Spen 107 0.3% 8th of 16 [38]
2021 By-election North Shropshire 118 0.3% 8th of 14 [39]
2022 By-election City of Chester 156 0.6% 8th of 9 [40]
2023 By-election West Lancashire 210 0.9% 6th of 6 [41]
2023 By-election Uxbridge and South Ruislip 32 0.1% 16th of 17 [42]
2023 By-election Tamworth 155 0.6% 8th of 9 [43]
2024 By-election Blackpool South 121 0.6% 8th of 9 [44]
2024 General election North East Hampshire 340 0.6% 6th of 8 [45]

References

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  1. ^ Byrnes, Sholto (6 October 2004). "The lunatic fringe". The Independent. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  2. ^ "BBC NEWS | VOTE2001 | PARTIES | Monster Raving Loony Party". news.bbc.co.uk. 5 March 2001. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Tom Mendelsohn: Howling Laud Hope – a profile". Independent Minds. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Ashburton | Charity Shop Tourism". charityshoptourism.wordpress.com. 14 September 2009. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "BBC News | UK Politics | Loony tradition continues at by-election". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ "Hope and Hopeless," Cortland Standard (Cortland, NY), 29 September 2014. P 3
  7. ^ Appel, JM. Phoning Home. University of South Carolina Press, 2014
  8. ^ Matthew Tempest (21 May 2001). "Cat pushes for prime minister | Politics". theguardian. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  9. ^ Criddle, Byron (2005). The Almanac of British Politics (7th ed.). Routledge. p. 297. ISBN 1134493819.
  10. ^ "Dog and Partridge, Yateley, Hampshire, GU46 7LR – pub details#". Beerintheevening.com. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Loonies choose cat as joint leader". BBC. 24 September 1999. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  12. ^ "'I'm chief Monster Raving Loony, seriously '". BBC. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  13. ^ "1983 - 1983 General Election - Teignbridge". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  14. ^ "1987 - 1987 General Election - Teignbridge". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  15. ^ "1992 - 1992 General Election - Teignbridge". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  16. ^ a b Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1997–2001 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  17. ^ "2001 - 2001 General Election - Aldershot". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  18. ^ a b Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 2001-2005 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  19. ^ "2005 - 2005 General Election - Aldershot". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  20. ^ a b Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 2005–2010 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Norwich North". Archived from the original on 11 September 2011.
  22. ^ "2010 - 2010 General Election - Witney". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Hart.gov.uk (Hampshire district) – Fleet town councils – 2010 election results" (PDF). Hart.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  24. ^ "BBC News – Lib Dems slump to sixth as Labour win Barnsley poll". Bbc.co.uk. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  25. ^ "Leicester South 5 May 2011". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  26. ^ "George Galloway wins Bradford West by-election". BBC. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  27. ^ "Parliamentary by-election Manchester Central Constituency". Manchester Council. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  28. ^ "Labour holds South Shields as UKIP takes second". New Statesman. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  29. ^ "Clacton Constituency – Parliamentary by-election". Tendring District Council. 2014. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  30. ^ "2015 - 2015 General Election - Uxbridge and South Ruislip". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  31. ^ Roberts, Elizabeth; Jamieson, Sophie (8 May 2015). "Vote campaigner beaten by Boris is still smiling". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  32. ^ "Tooting Constituency by-election result June 2016 published". Wandsworth Council. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  33. ^ Walker, Peter (2 December 2016). "Zac Goldsmith loses to Lib Dems in 'shockwave' Richmond Park byelection". The Guardian.
  34. ^ "Maidenhead Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  35. ^ "UK Parliamentary By-Election – Lewisham East Constituency – Declaration of Result of Poll" (PDF). Lewisham London Borough Council. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  36. ^ "Peterborough 6 June 2019". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  37. ^ "Hampshire North East parliamentary constituency". BBC. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  38. ^ "Batley and Spen 1 July 2021". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  39. ^ "North Shropshire 16 December 2021". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  40. ^ "City of Chester 1 December 2022". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  41. ^ "Election results for West Lancashire Parliamentary - West Lancashire Parliamentary By-Election - Thursday, 9th February, 2023". Westlancs.gov. 10 February 2023. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024.
  42. ^ "Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election 2023 results". Hillingdon Council. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  43. ^ "Tamworth 19 October 2023". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  44. ^ "Parliamentary by-election Blackpool South". Blackpool Council. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  45. ^ "North East Hampshire - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.

Further reading

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edit
Party political offices
Preceded by Official Monster Raving Loony Party Leader
1999–present
With: Catmando 1999–2002 		Incumbent
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