McGillicuddy Serious Party facts for kids

Quick facts for kids McGillicuddy Serious Party
Leader	The Laird of Hamilton, Graeme Cairns
President	Paull Cooke
Deputy	KT Julian
Founded	1984 (1984)
Dissolved	1999; 26 years ago (1999)
Headquarters	None
Ideology	Funism
International affiliation	Jacobitism
Colours	Red and Green, Tartan
MPs	0
Politics of New Zealand

The McGillicuddy Serious Party (often called McGSP) was a funny and unusual political party in New Zealand. It existed from 1984 to 1999. The party aimed to make people laugh and not take politics too seriously. Its logo was a medieval court jester, showing it was a "joke party."

The party put forward candidates in many elections. These included general elections in 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996, and 1999. They also ran in local elections and special by-elections.

Their best result was in the 1993 general election. They got 11,714 votes, which was about 0.61% of all votes. They had candidates in 62 out of 99 areas.

How the Party Started

The McGillicuddy Serious Party began in 1984 in Hamilton, New Zealand. It was the political part of a group called Clan McGillicuddy. This Clan had been around since 1978.

Some Clan members ran in local elections in 1983. The party then officially formed for the 1984 General Election. They had a strong Scottish theme, and wearing a kilt was one of their symbols. Many candidates were street performers or funny musicians.

Funny Ideas and Policies

The party chose its policies based on how silly and impossible they were. They wanted to make people think and laugh.

Here are some of their most famous and funny ideas:

• Free Animal Waste: They suggested giving away free animal dung (poop) to everyone.
• Hiding New Zealand: They wanted to send spies around the world. These spies would secretly remove New Zealand from all maps. This way, no one could ever invade the country!
• A Dog in Parliament: They tried to get a dog elected to parliament. Her policies included getting rid of cars. She also wanted to turn a meat factory into a place that made organic flea powder.
• No More Money: They proposed getting rid of money completely. Instead, people would use chocolate fish or sand to buy things.
• Knocking Down Buildings: They wanted to knock down important buildings like The Beehive, which is New Zealand's parliament building. They said they would knock them down "last-up, first-down."
• Giant Space Mirrors: They suggested using metal from planes and missiles to build huge mirrors in space. These mirrors would melt the polar ice caps. This would flood cities and send humans back to the sea, where they believed humans belonged.
• School Until 65: When the government raised the school leaving age by just one year, the party joked about raising it to 65!
• Only Kids Can Vote: When the voting age was lowered to 18, the party said only people under 18 should be allowed to vote. They even showed their election ads during children's TV shows.
• Student Loans for Babies: They joked about giving student loans for attending baby groups or kindergarten. This was a jab at politicians who promised free university but then introduced fees.
• No More Male Votes: New Zealand was the first country where women could vote (in 1893). The party joked about taking away men's right to vote.
• Votes for Trees: New Zealanders care a lot about the environment. The party suggested that trees should have the right to vote. They even debated if native trees could vote in special Māori areas.
• Auckland Sundial: They wanted to knock down the main part of Auckland city. They would then turn it into a giant sundial, using the Sky Tower as the pointer.
• Knights Instead of Tanks: They suggested replacing the army's armored vehicles with mounted knights. This was a funny way to point out that the New Zealand Army had old equipment.
• Building Warships: They joked about building huge old-fashioned warships called "dreadnoughts" in a local river. This was a comment on the navy buying new ships.
• Good Weather: They promised good weather, but only if people voted for them and behaved well!
• Carpeting Highways: They suggested carpeting all national highways. This would create full employment and save wear and tear on car tires.
• Breaking Promises: One of their policies was simply to break all their promises. This was a funny way to comment on how some politicians don't keep their word.

Why the Party Ended

The party gained a surprising amount of support. Some experts even thought they might win seats in parliament. This never happened. In a special election in 1993, their candidate Greg Pittams came in second place. He was famous for wearing an "emperor's new kilt" (just a shirt and a small bag called a sporran).

Many people who voted for the party were making a protest vote. The party even encouraged this with their slogan: "If you want to waste your vote, vote for us."

Over time, the party faced a problem. Some members thought the party should stay purely for fun and humor. Others, especially some anarchists who joined, wanted to use the party's humor to make serious political points. This caused disagreements. The original members felt that getting too serious would ruin the fun and limit their ability to make fun of everything.

In the 1996 general election, the party had 65 candidates.

The Party's End

The 1999 election was a big disappointment for the party. Their votes dropped a lot, to only 0.15%. Soon after, the party officially closed down. The Electoral Commission removed it from the list of political parties.

To mark the end, the party leader, Graeme Cairns, put himself in wooden stocks in a public park. Disappointed party members threw rotten fruit at him!

Election Results

Here's a summary of how the party did in general elections:

Special Elections (By-elections)

Famous McGillicuddy Candidates

Some people who were once part of the McGillicuddy Serious Party later ran for "real" political parties. For example, Metiria Turei, who later became a co-leader of the Green Party, was once a member.

Other important candidates from the party's early days included:

• Graeme Cairns, the party's founder and leader.
• KT Julian, a long-time Deputy Leader.
• Cecil G. Murgatroyd, who even ran against the Australian Prime Minister once.
• Donna Demente, a well-known artist.

Later Attempts and Current Status

A few years after the party ended, in 2005, someone tried to bring back the "McGillicuddy Serious Party." They even sent out a press release. However, the original leaders of Clan McGillicuddy didn't know about it. So, the party wasn't officially registered, and no candidates ran in that election.

In the 2008 general election, one candidate, Steve Richards, did run under the McGillicuddy Serious banner. He had been a candidate in earlier elections. He received 259 votes.

Even though the political party is gone, Clan McGillicuddy still holds fun public events. They sometimes have "pacifist battles," which are like pretend fights. For example, in 2013, they "defended" a castle-like home against a local militia.

See Also

• List of frivolous political parties