16 Jun: Welcome To The Monster Raving Loony Party
Over beers at The Golden Lion in Ashburton, Devon, ‘Screaming’ Lord Sutch founded his anti-establishment political party The Monster Raving Loony Party on 16th June, 1982.
It wasn’t the first time the former rock n’roller had stood on a political platform – he had previously contested Harold Wilson’s seat in 1966, achieving 585 votes. But his eccentric new party – with their satirical policies, velvet hats and oversized badges – soon became a fixture of British general elections.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine whether the MRLP’s biggest weapon was visual or lyrical; consider the realities of trudging around the country canvassing for a political party that will inevitably never win; and reveal just how many of the party’s former ‘joke’ policies subsequently entered mainstream political thinking…
Content warning: suicide, brief description of dead body.
Further Reading:
• The Official Page of the Monster Raving Loony Party: https://www.loonyparty.com/
• Screaming Lord Sutch: An Obituary (The Guardian, 1999):
https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jun/19/guardianobituaries.nigelfountain
• Screaming Lord Sutch sings ‘Jack The Ripper’ (1964):