Bill and Ben | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Ben Boyce and Jamie Linehan |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Dissolved | 29 April 2010 |
| Ideology | Joke political party |
| Colours | Dark green |
| Website | |
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 vote and the ninth-highest number of votes, outpolling every other party not in parliament prior to the election.[1]
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 500 members for Electoral Act registration after locating the requisite number of inebriated university students outside a student drinking establishment.[5]
- ^ Elections.govt.nz
- ^ "Applications to register parties and a party logo". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
- ^ "Electoral Commission meeting summary". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 29 July 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
- ^ "Applications to register a party and a party logo". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 31 July 2008. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ Koubaridis, Andrew (11 August 2008). "Bill and Ben putting 'party' into party". NZ Herald. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2008.