Clacton By-Election Candidate Profile

Baron Von Thunderclap

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party

Veteran Loony candidate, party secretary and deputy leader Baron Von Thunderclap is standing in Clacton with policies including saving the dodo, turning Clacton Pier into a Peer and placing toll booths across the English Channel.

Deputy Party Leader Party Secretary Veteran Candidate Former Parish Councillor Save The Dodo

Loony Party Website Candidate Statement All 34 Candidates

BVT Baron Von Thunderclap

Overview

Baron Von Thunderclap is one of three Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidates standing in the 2026 Clacton by-election.

Candidate Baron Von Thunderclap

Party Official Monster Raving Loony Party

Party Position Deputy Leader & Secretary

Main Clacton Pledge Save The Dodo

Who is Baron Von Thunderclap?

This is not his first election and he is not simply somebody who has appeared for the Clacton by-election.

Baron Von Thunderclap is a long-standing senior figure within the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. The party currently lists him as its Party and Membership Secretary and as one of its Deputy Leaders.

He became Party Secretary in 2013 and Deputy Leader in 2019, according to the party's own current cabinet listing.

He has contested numerous parliamentary and local elections, particularly around Mid Sussex, and has also served at parish council level.

Campaign Priority

SAVE
THE
DODO

The preservation of a bird which has been extinct for several centuries remains one of the Baron's longest-running political priorities.

His Clacton Manifesto

These are the policies Baron Von Thunderclap personally submitted for the Clacton election.

🦤

Save The Dodo

The Baron's headline policy remains saving the dodo. The fact that the dodo has been extinct since the seventeenth century has not weakened his commitment to the cause.

🎡

Clacton Pier Becomes a Peer

He proposes turning Clacton Pier into "Clacton Peer" and giving it a seat in the House of Lords.

🚢

English Channel Toll Booths

A row of toll booths would be installed across the English Channel so foreign registered vessels could be charged for using it.

🚗

Free Dartford Crossing

Drivers of classic cars would be allowed to use the Dartford Crossing for free. The candidate openly describes this particular proposal as "a selfish one".

Candidate's Favourite Biscuit Squashed Fly, otherwise known as a Garibaldi

More Than a One-Off Joke Candidate

Whatever voters think of the policies, Baron Von Thunderclap has been involved with the Loony Party and elections for many years.

Party Role

Party Secretary

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party lists him as Party Secretary from 2013 onwards.

Party Role

Deputy Leader

He became one of the party's Deputy Leaders in 2019 and remains listed in that role.

Local Government

Bolney Parish Council

Loony Party records show that Baron Von Thunderclap has served on Bolney Parish Council, including being returned unopposed.

The party biography is written in deliberate Loony Party style. It describes his day job as running a dodo sanctuary and lists his hobbies as restoring classic cars, riding Norton rotary motorcycles and attempting to rid the world of real ale by drinking it.

Is It All Just a Joke?

Yes and no.

Political satire

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party exists largely to use absurdity and humour to satirise politicians, elections and government policy.

Policies involving dodos, giant hamster wheels, English Channel toll booths and Clacton Pier joining the House of Lords are intentionally comic.

That does not mean the candidacy itself is fictional. Baron Von Thunderclap is a legally nominated parliamentary candidate and votes cast for him are real votes.

Some Loony ideas stopped being jokes

The party has long pointed out that a number of ideas which once sounded eccentric later became mainstream policy.

Its own historical examples include votes at 18, commercial local radio, pet passports and extended pub opening hours.

The party also campaigned for votes at 16 long before the proposal became a serious subject of mainstream political debate.

Clacton.org view: voters should understand what they are voting for. Baron Von Thunderclap is clearly a satirical candidate, but he is also an experienced election campaigner, a senior officer of a registered political party and someone with actual parish council experience. That makes his political background rather more substantial than the name alone might suggest.

Election History

Baron Von Thunderclap has stood repeatedly in parliamentary and local elections. This table shows a selection of his recent recorded contests.

Year	Election	Party	Votes	Result
2015	UK General Election Mid Sussex	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	329	Not elected
2017	UK General Election Mid Sussex	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	464	Not elected
2019	UK General Election Mid Sussex	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	550	Not elected
2021	West Sussex County Council Hurstpierpoint & Bolney	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	122	Not elected
2022	Bolney	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	30	Not elected
2023	Cuckfield, Bolney & Ansty	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	150	Not elected
2024	UK General Election Mid Sussex	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	352	6th of 6
2026	West Sussex County Council Hurstpierpoint & Bolney	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	52	6th of 6
2026	Clacton Parliamentary By-Election	Official Monster Raving Loony Party	Pending	Polling day 13 August

He has also won an election of sorts. Loony Party records show Baron Von Thunderclap was returned unopposed to Bolney Parish Council and the party's current biography says he subsequently served a second term.

The Loony Party's Clacton "Manicfesto"

The party has also published a separate manifesto specifically for this by-election.

Three Loony candidates, one election

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party is unusually fielding three candidates in Clacton: Baron Von Thunderclap, Howling Laud Hope and Nick the Incredible Flying Brick.

The party describes the contest as the "Clacton Unfunfair Election" and has published its own satirical Clacton manicfesto.

Among its proposals is renaming Clacton-on-Sea "Eric", alongside a collection of deliberately absurd responses to local and national political issues.

Read the Clacton Manicfesto

Sources & Further Information

With a satirical candidate it is particularly important to distinguish official election facts from jokes made by the candidate or party.

Tendring District Council Official confirmation that Baron Von Thunderclap is standing for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in the Clacton by-election. State: Baron Von Thunderclap Candidate statement, Clacton policies and recent election history. Official Monster Raving Loony Party Cabinet Party biography and confirmation of his roles as Party Secretary and Deputy Leader. Baron Von Thunderclap for Mid Sussex Candidate's earlier policy statement including Save the Dodo and English Channel toll booths. UK Parliament: Mid Sussex 2024 Official 2024 General Election result confirming 352 votes for Baron Von Thunderclap. West Sussex County Council: 2026 Result Official result showing 52 votes in Hurstpierpoint & Bolney. Loony Party Election Records Includes his 2015 Mid Sussex result and record of being returned unopposed to Bolney Parish Council. Loony Party Policies A-Z Wider collection of Official Monster Raving Loony Party policy proposals.

About Clacton.org candidate coverage: Baron Von Thunderclap and the Official Monster Raving Loony Party use satire deliberately. This profile reports their policies in that context while treating his candidacy, election history and party roles as genuine political facts.

Research checked and updated: 9 August 2026.