Rosalyn Warner (1961 in Harwich, Essex – 4 July 2010 in Sunderland),[1][2] better known as Mad Cow-Girl, was a British nurse who contested several elections as a candidate for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party. She ran for election to the House of Commons for the Haltemprice and Howden seat in 2008 against incumbent Conservative MP David Davis, where she polled 412 votes (a vote that David Davis won comfortably).
Mad Cow-Girl | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rosalyn Warner 1961 Harwich, Essex, England |
| Died | 4 July 2010 (aged 48–49) Sunderland, England |
| Political party | Monster Raving Loony Party |
| Residence | Wearside |
| Occupation | Intensive care unit nurse |
Background
editWarner's involvement with the OMRLP began in 1997 when she met Screaming Lord Sutch, and she subsequently stood as a candidate in both local and general elections from 2004 to 2008. She also stood for election under the name The Mad Cow-Girl Warner.[3] Mad Cow-Girl held numerous positions within the Monster Raving Loony Party, including Party Secretary, Campaigns Officer, Party Archivist, and Shadow Minister for around the world in Eighty Days.[4] She stood at the 2001 and 2005 General Elections for the party in the first constituency to declare: Sunderland South. According to one journalist: "she triumphantly succeeded in maintaining the party's fine tradition of making an absolute mockery of the proceedings, spoiling the perfect picture of democracy at its noblest moment".[5] In 2005, she appeared in national newspapers alongside then Prime Minister Tony Blair during the Sedgefield count.[6] In 2006, she stood successfully for the board of a Hendon regeneration project, beating a British National Party candidate. Originally from Essex, she lived in Wearside for 10 years, and worked as an intensive care nurse at Sunderland Royal Hospital.[7][8]
After a two-week visit to a friend in Sunderland I quickly decided that the friendliness and hospitality of the people up in the North East of England was my kind of society. The north-south divide does exist in my opinion – the north being a much more pleasant place to live.
— Mad Cow-Girl, Quoted by the Sunderland Echo, 19 June 2008.[7]
Haltemprice and Howden byelection, 2008 candidacy
editWe like to have fun when we go to elections...That's what we're in it for. But on this occasion it seems that the sensible candidate is acting like a loony, so it's up to the Loony Party to try and act sensibly. What a topsy-turvy world we live in.
Mad Cow-Girl, Sunderland Echo.[7]
Warner was one of 26 candidates standing in the 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election for the seat of Conservative MP David Davis.[9] In a statement made to the media, she stated on the issue of detaining terrorist suspects for 42 days: "I may be a Loony, but I'm not mad enough to want dangerous people walking free in the name of political correctness."[10] Warner argued for the extension of the time-limit for which terrorist suspects can be detained without charge and also argued against civil libertarians who opposed the 42-day limit.[11] She stood on an indefinite-detention platform, combined with a quote based on Douglas Adams's "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy": "The answer is 42!!! Now we just need to figure out the real question!!!"[11]
Warner positioned herself as tough on terrorism in the run up to the by-election in order to appeal to the voters of the predominantly conservative seat. In one interview she asked: "Why don't decent citizens have a 'human right' not be assaulted, blown up or harassed, when the criminals can scream human rights if their handcuffs hurt?"[12]
The high-profile nature of the by election has led to Warner's candidature being announced on several news sites.[13] The Daily Record consider the fact that only Warner and possibly one other candidate will stand means that the by-election has descended into a farce.[14] The Daily Record have endorsed Warner's candidacy on this account:
The poor folk of Haltemprice and Howden should show their contempt by giving the polls a bodyswerve.
But if they must vote in this unnecessary £100,000 waste of time, we say: Vote Cow-Girl.
OK, her track record's not great. She only polled 149 votes at the last general election in Sunderland South. And she wasn't much help to Nick The Flying Brick in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election last month.
But, crucially, she's not as discredited as David Davis. Or MacKenzie, for that matter.
— The Daily Record, 14 June 2008[15]
The Independent suggested that Warner was chosen as the candidate because another candidate Banana Man would be contesting the Henley By-Election as a result of Boris Johnson resigning his Henley seat on becoming Mayor of London.[16]
Electoral history
editHaltemprice and Howden
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | David Davis | 17,113 | 71.6 |  24.1
| |
| Green | Shan Oakes | 1,758 | 7.4 | N/A | |
| English Democrat | Joanne Robinson | 1,714 | 7.2 | N/A | |
| National Front | Tess Culnane | 544 | 2.3 | N/A | |
| Miss Great Britain Party | Gemma Garrett | 521 | 2.2 | N/A | |
| Independent | Jill Saward | 492 | 2.1 | N/A | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Cow-Girl | 412 | 1.7 | N/A | |
| Independent | Walter Sweeney | 238 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | John Nicholson | 162 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Independent | David Craig | 135 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| New Party | David Pinder | 135 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| no label | David Icke | 110 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| Freedom 4 Choice | Hamish Howitt | 91 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Socialist Equality | Chris Talbot | 84 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Independent | Grace Astley | 77 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Christian | George Hargreaves | 76 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Church of the Militant Elvis | David Bishop | 44 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Independent | John Upex | 38 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Independent | Greg Wood | 32 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Eamonn Fitzpatrick | 31 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Make Politicians History | Ronnie Carroll | 29 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Thomas Darwood | 25 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Christopher Foren | 23 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Herbert Crossman | 11 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | Tony Farnon | 8 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Independent | Norman Scarth | 8 | 0.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 15,355 | 64.2 | 53.5
| ||
| Turnout | 23,911 | 34.5[18] |  35.7
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
2006 council elections
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Mary Smith | 1,062 | |||
| BNP | David Guynan | 534 | |||
| Conservative | Alistar Newton | 528 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | John Jackson | 361 | |||
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Cow-Girl | 48 | |||
2005 general election
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Chris Mullin | 17,982 | |||
| Conservative | Robert Oliver | 6,923 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Gareth Kane | 4,492 | |||
| BNP | David Guynan | 1,166 | |||
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Cow-Girl | 149 | |||
2001 general election
editWarner gained 291 votes or 0.9% of the total turnout.[19]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Chris Mullin | 19,921 | |||
| Conservative | Jim Boyd | 6,254 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Mark Greenfield | 3,675 | |||
| BNP | Joseph Doble | 576 | |||
| UKIP | Joseph Moore | 470 | |||
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Cow-Girl | 291 | |||
| Majority | |||||
2000 council elections
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Janice Morrissey | 1,213 | |||
| Labour | Gilian Gailbraith | 1,082 | |||
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Cow-Girl | 108 | |||
| BNP | David Guynan | 82 | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Haltemprice and Howden". Ukpollingreport.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ "Rosalyn Warner : Obituary". Sunderland Echo family notices. Johnston Press plc. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ^ "VOTE 2001 CANDIDATES". BBC News. London. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ "Loony Officials Over The Years". Rosalyn.me.uk. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ Callow, Simon (2 July 2005). "Desperately funny". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ "Sedgefield photograph". Rosalyn.me.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Booler, Tim (19 June 2008). "Wear Mad Cow-Girl in Davis by-election". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
- ^ "BNP member fails to win board seat". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 15 June 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Davis has 25 by-election rivals". BBC News. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
- ^ "Quotes of the Day". LexisNexis News. Associated Press. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ a b Madcows Statement, accessed 13 June 2008 Archived 15 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Percival, Jenny (16 June 2008). "Fruit and veg trader to fight David Davis in bye-election on 42-day ticket". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
- ^ Murphy, Joe; Waugh, Paul. "Brown attacks Tory rebel as ex-Sun editor says he'll fight seat". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ Schofield, Kevin (13 June 2008). "Monster Raving Loony Party and Kelvin MacKenzie may be only by-election opposition to David Davis". The Daily Record. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ "By-Election Is A Freak Show". The Daily Record. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ Merrick, Jane (15 June 2008). "Davis Debacle: Tory leader manqué self-destructs". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ East Riding of Yorkshire Council (26 June 2008). "Statement as to persons nominated and notice of poll" (PDF). Retrieved 26 June 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ This is Hull and East Riding
- ^ "General Election results, 7 June 2001" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
External links
edit- Warner's official website (Archived 8 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine)