Bill Boaks - Political Views

Political Views

Over the years, Boaks's political label changed. In one election, he stood as the "Trains & Boats & Planes" candidate - the title of a contemporary popular song which he found it apt to adopt - but after revisions to electoral law allowed candidates to have a six-word description of their candidature on the ballot paper, he eventually settled on "Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident".

Boaks's main concern was public safety on the roads. His other political views tended towards old-fashioned Conservatism, anti-Communism and an increasing distrust of "The Establishment" (as he put it), the latter fuelled by his frequent court appearances. Journalists, some of whom seem to have been scared of him, often expressed confusion over his claims, as they never quite knew whether he was being serious or simply having fun at their expense. For example, when deciding not to fight the Croydon North West by-election in 1981, he said that he would never fight in Croydon as he believed that the "Communist menace" was never a threat there. He also said on at least one occasion that he believed that homosexuals should be debarred from the Civil Service, as he thought they were more vulnerable to blackmail by foreign powers.