Lord Toby Jug Explained

Lord Toby Jug
Birth Name:Brian Borthwick
Birth Date:18 December 1965
Birth Place:West Ham, London, England
Death Date: (aged 53)
Nationality:British
Party:Official Monster Raving Loony Party (until 2014)
The Eccentric Party of Great Britain (2015–19)

Lord Toby Jug[1] (born Brian Borthwick,[2] 18 December 1965 – 2 May 2019)[3] [4] was a British politician. He was the leader of the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire branch of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, serving as the party's media officer and a prospective parliamentary candidate, until being expelled from the Loony Party in 2014. He founded The Eccentric Party of Great Britain in 2015.

Party involvement

Monster Raving Loony Party

Lord Toby Jug joined the Monster Raving Loony Party in 1987, and described himself as its Shadow Minister for Mental Health.[5] [6]

In April 2009, Jug called for a statue of Oliver Cromwell in St Ives to be replaced by one of Screaming Lord Sutch.[7] In 2012, Jug presided over a blue plaque unveiling at London's Ace Cafe in memory of Sutch, a longtime South Harrow resident, who died in 1999. The plaque was paid for by the bookmaker and online gambling organisation William Hill, a former sponsor of the Loony Party.[8] [9] [10] [11] In November 2013 Jug held a graveside gathering celebrating the life of Screaming Lord Sutch.[12]

During the 2013 South Shields by-election campaign, Jug wrote to The Guardian and The Independent, claiming that the Loony Party objected to the terms "fruitcakes" and "loonies" being applied to UK Independence Party and other parliamentary candidates. He went on to describe UKIP as "nothing but opportunists, seeking a populist platform for their extremist views".[13] [14] [15]

Jug was expelled from the Monster Raving Loony Party in 2014 over comments made about UKIP leader Nigel Farage, and for his criticism of pub chain J D Wetherspoon, a company which the Loony party had been attempting to attract as a sponsor.[16] Party leader Howling Laud Hope said that it was "about the fourth time we have asked him to leave the party" and that the Loony Party was "not in the game of upsetting people".[17] When leaving the party, Jug expressed concern over racist comments expressed by Hope in a Guardian article from 14 years previously.[18]

The Eccentric Party of Great Britain

In January 2015 Jug founded "The Eccentric Party of Great Britain" in St Ives,[19] after the Electoral Commission had rejected more than 30 suggested names, including the "Real Loony Party" and the "United Kingdom Independent Loony Party", for being too similar to those of other parties.[20] [21] [22]

General and council elections

Jug stood in two general elections against Tony Banks in Newham North West in 1992, and its successor, West Ham in 1997.[23]

At the 2005 general election, Jug stood against then Conservative leader Michael Howard in Folkestone and Hythe as "Lord Toby Jug Borthwick".[24] [25] Jug polled 175 votes beating three other candidates.[26]

At the 2009 Cambridgeshire County Council election, Jug polled 566 votes in St Ives ward, more than either Labour candidate and also raised £275 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.[27] [28] [29] [30] At the 2010 general election, he stood as candidate for Huntingdon and polled 548 votes.[31] [32] In May 2012, Jug campaigned in the District Council Elections, polling 118 votes, coming last.[33] In March 2012, Jug announced plans to stand as a joke candidate for the position of Cambridgeshire's Police and Crime Commissioner.[34] In June 2012 Jug stood in the St Ives Town Council by-election, and polled slightly ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate.[35]

At the launch of the 2013 Cambridgeshire County Council election campaign, Jug was accompanied by Loony minister for floating voters Lady Jezebel Fortescue Luxury Yacht and accidentally dropped his leaflets into the River Ouse.[36] He later polled 197 votes, again standing for St Ives ward.

In 2015, Jug announced his intention to stand as a prospective parliamentary candidate for Huntingdon at the general election, for The Eccentric Party of Great Britain.[37] He joked that he should be included in the televised leaders' debates, because "although we are a small party, so are the Liberal Democrats".[38] A month before the election, Jug planned to stand in both Huntingdon and the constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, after the Eccentric Party's original candidate for the second area fell ill. When told he could not stand in two constituencies, Jug stood down from the Huntingdon election.[39] Standing against Boris Johnson, and against Howling Laud Hope of the Monster Raving Loony Party, Jug polled 50 votes.[40]

Personal life

As Brian Borthwick, Jug was the guitarist in a band with the Loony Party's founder, Screaming Lord Sutch.[17] [41] Sutch gave him the nickname "Toby Jug" because of his rotund appearance,[42] and Borthwick later adopted the name by deed poll.[42] He described himself as a "professional jester", regarding his Union Jack-wearing Loony persona as an "alter ego".[42] He wore a top hat which previously belonged to Lord Sutch.[43]

In May 2014, Jug publicly admitted suffering from alcoholism.[44] [42] [45] The same month, Jug took part in the film A Different Drummer: Celebrating Eccentrics.[46]

Jug died on 2 May 2019, at the age of 53.[47]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Lord Toby Jug banned from Facebook because they don't believe it's his real name. The Daily Telegraph. 26 August 2015. Helena. Horton. 3 May 2019.
  2. Web site: New EU laws see News Shopper story about north Kent chief of Monster Raving Loony Party wiped from Google searches . 9 September 2014 . 28 November 2014 . Grafton-Green, Patrick.
  3. Obituary, "The Times", 6 May 2019
  4. Web site: Newham-born Eccentric Party leader Lord Toby Jug dies . Morton . Sophie . 2019-05-03 . Newham Recorder . en . 2019-05-04.
  5. Web site: St Ives' Party Animal . Hunts Post . 3 April 2009 . 29 November 2014 . 3 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234952/http://www.huntspost.co.uk/hunts-life/st_ives_party_animal_1_324888 . dead .
  6. Web site: Lord Toby Jug plans Acer Ward protest ahead of final decision on closure . Hunts Post . 29 February 2012 . 11 December 2014 . 1 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161101104745/http://www.huntspost.co.uk/news/lord_toby_jug_plans_acer_ward_protest_ahead_of_final_decision_on_closure_1_1223150 . dead .
  7. Web site: Loony Toby bids to oust Cromwell . Cambridge News . 1 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141215190621/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Loony-Toby-bids-oust-Cromwell/story-22740239-detail/story.html . 15 December 2014.
  8. Web site: Screaming Lord Sutch Honoured in Blue Plaque Award . iharrow.com . 8 November 2012 . 18 June 2013.
  9. Web site: Blue Plaque in memory of Screaming Lord Sutch . Ace-cafe-london.com . 29 June 2013.
  10. Web site: Plaque for Sutch. loonyparty.com. 5 November 2012.
  11. Web site: Screaming Lord Sutch Heritage Foundation Blue Plaque Unveiling at the Ace Cafe . Allevents.in . 4 November 2012 . 3 July 2016.
  12. Web site: Lord Sutch's Graveside Gathering. headstonenorth.co.uk. 4 November 2013.
  13. News: Letters: Loony or not, Ukip are here to stay . Lord Toby Jug . The Guardian . 30 April 2013. 10 June 2013 . London.
  14. News: Lord Toby Jug. The Independent . Letters: Ukip – rise of the anti-everything party . Independent.co.uk . 30 April 2013 . 10 June 2013 . London.
  15. Web site: Ukip Not Worthy Of 'Fruitcake' Description, Says The Monster Raving Loony Party . Huffington Post . 1 May 2013 . 10 June 2013.
  16. Web site: Wetherspoon pub in St Ives would be a loony idea. Lord Toby Jug. Hunts Post. 11 July 2013.
  17. Web site: Split in Monster Raving Loony Party as Lord Toby Jug, of St Ives, sets up new party . Cambridge News . 26 May 2014 . 31 October 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141104142315/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Split-Monster-Raving-Loony-Party-Lord-Toby-Jug-St-Ives-sets-new-party/story-22369520-detail/story.html . 4 November 2014.
  18. Web site: Hugh Muir's diary: Watch out, there's still a Sir Humphrey about. Hugh Muir. The Guardian. 9 July 2014.
  19. Web site: Elections: Lord Toby Jug launches Eccentric Party . Cambridge News . 15 January 2015 . 12 February 2015.
  20. Web site: Row over name for Loony Lord Toby Jug's new political party . Cambridge News . 7 October 2014 . 28 November 2014 . Makey, Julian . 23 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230025/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Row-Loony-Lord-Toby-Jug-8217-s-new-political/story-23050634-detail/story.html . dead .
  21. Web site: Lip-balm super-glue to halt obesity – will you vote Lord Toby Jug at general election?. BT.com.
  22. Web site: Lord Toby Jug launches new political party. celebratingeccentrics.com. 13 February 2015. 5 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190505123548/http://celebratingeccentrics.com/lord-toby-jug-launches-new-political-party/. dead.
  23. Web site: Lording it with his totally loony ideas . The Telegraph & Argus . 3 May 2005 . 28 November 2014 . Brinicombe, Lucy.
  24. News: UK | UK Politics | Election 2005 | Full list of candidates . BBC News . 3 May 2005 . 18 June 2013.
  25. News: UK | UK Politics | Election 2005 | Traveller to stand against Howard . News.bbc.co.uk . 11 April 2005 . 18 June 2013.
  26. News: Groundhog Day for Tory England. Robert McCrum. The Guardian. 7 May 2005 .
  27. Web site: Vote Loony and help children's charity. Hunts Post.
  28. Web site: Blue is still the colour but Bradney is derailed | Cambridge News | Latest News Headlines From Cambridge City & Cambridgeshire | National News By . Cambridge News . 10 June 2013.
  29. Web site: Labour fourth after Loony Party. Ellee Seymour MCIPR.
  30. Web site: Labour wiped off the county council map in local elections. Jason Beattie. 5 June 2009. mirror.
  31. Web site: Lord Toby Jug, Monster Raving Loony Party, Huntingdon . Oxfordmail.co.uk . 18 June 2013.
  32. Web site: Results of the May 6, 2010 General Election in Huntingdon. Huntingdon Liberal Democrats.
  33. http://www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/HDCCMS/Documents/Elections/Declaration%20of%20results%20-%20District%205-12.pdf
  34. Web site: Let a Loony loose for law and order, party leader says. Cambridge News.
  35. Web site: Independent wins council by-election. Cambridge News.
  36. Web site: Official Monster Raving Loony candidate starts election campaign with an accidental leaflet drop | News & Crier Latest News in St Neots, Huntingdon & St Ives | Events & Sports in Huntingdon . Cambridge-news.co.uk . 12 April 2013 . 10 June 2013.
  37. Web site: Call for super strength beer and cider to be banned from sale. Cambridge News.
  38. Web site: TV debate: Eccentric Party launched by Lord Toby Jug in St Ives demands a place. Cambridge News.
  39. Web site: Makey . Julian . General election: Lord Toby jug pulls out of Huntingdon seat to fight Boris Johnson . Cambridge News . 2015-04-09 . 2016-07-03.
  40. Web site: Emily Boneham . Boris sweeps home as Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip . Hillingdontimes.co.uk . 8 May 2015. 2016-07-03.
  41. Web site: SCREAMING LORD SUTCH's SAVAGES: Regular Savages. The Book of Bands Alain, Christine. thebookofbands2.blogspot.co.uk. etal.
  42. https://archive.today/20141130080514/http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Drink-left-homeless-doctors-told-months-live-says-Monster-Raving-Loony-Lord-Toby-Jug/story-22369394-detail/story.html "'Drink left me homeless and doctors told me I only had months to live,' says Monster Raving Loony Lord Toby Jug."
  43. Web site: Let a Loony loose for law and order, party leader says | Cambridge News | Latest News Headlines From Cambridge City & Cambridgeshire | National News By . . 23 March 2012 . 18 June 2013.
  44. Web site: Lord Toby Jug tells the tale of his battle with alcoholism. Hywel Barrett. Hunts Post.
  45. Web site: Alcohol charity the Gainsborough Foundation has seen an increase in inquiries since Lord Toby Jug spoke of his alcoholism. Cambridge News.
  46. Web site: Lord Toby Jug. celebratingeccentrics.com.
  47. News: Eccentric politician Lord Toby Jug has died. Cambs Times. 3 May 2019. 3 May 2019. Davies, Debbie. 3 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190503102533/https://www.cambstimes.co.uk/news/lord-toby-jug-has-died-1-6030838. dead.

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