Adam Lyal’s Witchery Tour Party
In order to understand what the Adam Lyal Witchery Tour really stood for you need a little history lesson. Adam Lyal, along with his brother John, were arrested under the suspicion of highway robbery. On March 27th, 1811 Adam Lyal was executed by hanging. It’s said that in 1985 Lyal was resurrected and now haunts the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland.
It would seem that in 1999 Robin Mitchel, film producer and writer, registered a new political party known as Adam Lyal’s Witchery Tour Party. The party members impersonated Lyal by wearing white make-up and hoods to seemingly haunt the sittings of Parliament. The party even got 1,184 votes in 1999, 964 votes in 2003, and 867 votes in 2007. The party officially unregistered in 2009.
Raving Loony Green Giant Party
If I were to join an internationally defunct political party, it would be this one solely because of the name. It was founded in 1989 after several members of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party (still in existence) broke away over disagreements on how to win votes and also because they were dirty rotten cheaters. Yes, the members of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party showed up at a charity even to start a charity walk and then left. They later came back a snuck in to finish the race.
Thus the Raving Loony Green Giant Party was born! As the name states, the RLGGP was an environmentally concerned party. They gained some notoriety with the general public in 1993 when the leader, Stuart Hughes, was elected into Devon County Council. Unfortunately, shortly after the election Hughes jumped ship and joined the Conservative Party before the UK local elections in 1997.
Deadly Serious Party
When you live in one of the most dangerous places in the world you may as well have a political party to match! In the 1980s Australian candidates came together to form the Deadly Serious Party to poke fun at the other candidates. Their platforms basis involved gathering an army of killer penguins to fight off an Argentinian invasion. They also rallied against “the appointment of silly people to all the portfolios that matter.”
Unfortunately, the Deadly Serious Party became defunct in 1988 due to lack of interest. They couldn’t come up with enough members to meet the 500 minimum it required.
Party! Party! Party!
I’m not entirely sure what the deal is with Australia and their joke political parties but I wish some of that humor would come over here to the States. In 1989 the Party! Party! Party! Ran in the election of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, they received 979 votes Not bad, considering.
Party! Party! Party! Participating in the election caused the laws of party registration to be changed in the Australian Capital Territory. The amendment made it so the parties must have 100 members and a constitution before they could register.
Canadian Extreme Wrestling Party
Quentin Barboni, a professional wrestler, beat 11 other wrestlers to become the first leader of the Canadian Extreme Wrestling Party. The party even formed a Canadian Extreme Wrestling Woman’s Auxiliary. Though it was never officially registered as a party by Elections Canada, it was still considered a party. It held its first leadership convention in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland. It was also the first convention held in Newfoundland for any federal party in the confederation up to that point.
The party released 30 pages of policy statements that were left wing in nature. Their platform included overfishing in Canadian waters, regional development, a “Guaranteed Annual Income” for all Canadians and they even proposed Canada withdrawing from NATO and becoming neutral.