‘Official Acne Party’: Watch BBC newsreader Moira Stuart reveal comical candidates in Chesterfield by-election

Funny retro footage has surfaced of BBC newsreader Moira Stuart revealing hilariously-named candidates in the 1984 Chesterfield by-election.
@BBCArchive tweeted the below footage.@BBCArchive tweeted the below footage.
@BBCArchive tweeted the below footage.

BBC Archive tweeted the video – which can be viewed below – yesterday.

The legendary newsreader managed to keep a straight face as she read out a string of, err, interesting candidates – including ‘Elvisly Yours, Elvis Presley Party’, ‘Four-Wheel Drive Hatchback Road Safety’, ‘Reclassify the Sun Newspaper as a Comic’ and the ‘Official Acne Party’.

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Labour’s Tony Benn won the by-election, which was held on March 1, 1984.

The comical footage has been retweeted around 4,000 times and liked by nearly 11,000 people – and generated equally hysterical comments.

@TimProbert tweeted: “I believe Official Acne Party lost their depo-zit.”

@KevinMKruse remarked: “Further proof that Monty Python was a documentary series.”

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- While researching this story, we found a Wikipedia page about the by-election – and spotted that the Official Acne Party won 15 votes.

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