Lib Dems 'all shook up' by Bus-pass Elvis defeat
The Liberal Democrats have laughed off an embarrassing defeat in a Nottingham council by-election, where they were beaten into fourth place by a candidate from the Bus-pass Elvis party.
Lord Biro, whose real name is David Bishop, won 67 votes in the city's Clifton North ward, beating the Lib Dems' Tony Marshall by 11 votes - much to the Labour Party press office's amusement:
Mr Bishop told the Nottingham Post he was now "confident" of beating the Lib Dems at the general election.
"It's not the best news for the Liberal Democrats. But perhaps people actually liked my policies of legalising brothels with a 30 per cent reduction for OAPs and holding an enquiry into the cost of vets fees", he said.
He also admitted to the paper that he missed the historic declaration:
Yesterday's vote was the eighth time Mr Bishop has stood for an Elvis-related political party, with previous incarnations including the Elvis Loves Pets party and the Elvis Goes Green party.
A Lib Dem spokesman joked that the party was "all shook up by the result".
Leader Nick Clegg tried to jokingly dismiss the result, claiming the by-election took place in an area of Nottingham in which the party "barely ever campaigned in in the past".
The party's president Tim Farron also had a more serious take on the result, tweeting: