| Bill and Ben | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Ben Boyce and Jamie Linehan |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Dissolved | 29 April 2010 |
| Ideology | Joke political party |
| Official colours | Dark green |
| MPs in the House of Representatives | None |
| Website | |
| Politics of New Zealand Political parties Elections |
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The Bill and Ben Party was a New Zealand joke political party formed in 2008 and voluntarily deregistered in 2010. The party's leaders were Jamie Linehan and Ben Boyce ("Bill" and Ben) of the TV3 satirical sports show Pulp Sport. In the 2008 general election the party secured 0.56% of the votes cast, outpolling every other party not in parliament at the time (New Zealand First, a party in parliament prior to 2008 failed to gain representation in the subsequent parliament).[1] Overall, they gained the ninth highest number of votes out of the nineteen parties standing for election.
As a joke political party, it shared a rich and varied heritage with the vanished former McGillicuddy Serious Party and Imperial British Conservative Party, both humorous political entities which contested New Zealand general elections from the 1970s until the late 1990s.
On 1 July 2008 the party applied for registration with the Electoral Commission, which would allow it to contest the party vote.[2] The party was registered by the Electoral Commission on 29 July 2008.[3] On 31 July 2008 the party applied to register a logo with the Electoral Commission.[4]
The party states that it managed to secure its required five hundred members for Electoral Act registration after locating the requisite number of inebriated university students outside a student drinking establishment.[5]
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For the 2008 general election, the Bill and Ben Party chose not to apply for the $10,000 in advertising money that all political parties are entitled to. They felt this was a waste of tax payer's money, and self-funded their advertising. This also meant that they did not qualify for a TVNZ Political Party Opening Address.
They stood on a "no policies, no promises, no disappointment" platform and had the slogan "We're putting the party back in political party". It is understood New Zealand First Party Leader Winston Peters took exception to one of their election signs which uses the phrase "C'mon, you voted Winston in".[6]
In the election on 8 November, the party secured 13,016 votes (0.56% of the total votes cast),[7] thus allowing them to rebate the $1000 party registration fee. They took this money and put it on the bar in Invercargill as they received more votes from Invercargill than any other place in New Zealand.
Even though they were a joke political party, they out-polled all but one party (New Zealand First) that did not gain representation in the last election, including every other new party: the New Zealand Pacific Party, The Kiwi Party, The Family Party, the Workers Party and the Residents Action Movement. They gained the ninth highest number of votes out of the nineteen parties standing for election, and would have earned a seat if there had been no electoral threshold.[8] They spent a total of NZ$3777 on advertising, or $0.29 per vote, making them the most effective party in terms of dollars per vote.[9]
Due to the way that mixed member proportional representation works in New Zealand, had the Bill and Ben Party crossed the minimum 5% threshold required to be admitted to parliament (without an electoral seat), the total number of MPs would have been reduced by about four (an "underhang"). This is because 5% of the vote would entitle them to approximately six MPs but they have listed only two candidates (Bill and Ben) on their party list.[10] However, the underhang would have partially been cancelled out by the Maori Party's overhang, having won five electorate seats when only entitled to three by the party vote.
Ben stood in the 2009 Mount Albert by-election held on 13 June and secured 151 votes (0.76% of the total votes cast), coming fifth overall.[7] This is an improvement on the 0.38% party vote they obtained in Mt Albert for the 2008 election. He out-polled the candidate from United Future New Zealand, a former MP, and every other micro party and independent candidate, including the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party and The Kiwi Party.
On 17 March 2010 the party applied to the Electoral Commission to be deregistered.[11] On 29 April 2010 the party was officially deregistered.[12]