Bez from Happy Mondays forgets to register party name in time to run as an MP

Bez from the Happy Mondays’ attempts to run for election have fallen short at the first hurdle, after the maracas-shaking legend failed to rename his party in time for registration.

It’s reported by Manchester Evening News that Bez’s Reality Party could not be registered, due to sounding too similar to the Realists’ Party (different policies, mind you). The Electoral Commission wrote to Bez, informing him that the Reality Party would be removed from the electoral register. They then gave him a deadline of 12th January for re-registration, which has since passed.

However, there’s still hope. A spokesman for the Electoral Commission told the local paper: “There’s still time for the [Reality] party to submit a revised name to the Commission before candidates who want to stand for a party have to submit their nominations papers to Acting Returning Officers with the name of the registered party they are standing for.”

Bez is hoping to stand in Salford, where he’s campaigning against current incumbent Hazel Blears, of Labour. Policies in the party’s agenda include anti-cracking, free food and free drinking water.