Politics
Founding his own political party, the "Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket" he previously stood in the 2001 General Election for the Belfast East constituency where he won a total of 71 votes (0.2% of those cast). Despite this, Weiss has spent considerable time and money organising an unofficial postal referendum to ask the people of Belfast whether they would like the city to be renamed "Best City", a name inspired by the late Northern Ireland football player George Best. With the celebrity endorsement of former professional snooker player Alex Higgins, the referendum took place in 2006 at an estimated cost (to Weiss himself) of £100,000. Only 2000 votes were returned, which means George effectively paid £50 for each vote he got.
Weiss was a candidate at the Brent East by-election standing for the www.xat.org party in 2003, won by Liberal Democrat Sarah Teather, where he came bottom of a list of 16 candidates with just eleven votes. While this vote was considerably low. lower votes had previously been registered, for example in the 1988 by-election in Kensington a candidate had polled just five votes. The Vote for Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket election record was also "surpassed" at the 2005 General election when British model Catherine Taylor-Dawson stood for the party in Cardiff North and achieved a single vote, though not from Taylor-Dawson herself, who wasn't eligible to vote in that constituency. Weiss himself set a new election record by simultaneously standing in 12 constituencies, beating Tom Keen of the Campaign for a More Prosperous Britain's previous record of 10.
He stood in all four Belfast constituencies during the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election. Standing for his Make Politicians History Party, he came third last in South Belfast and last in the three other constituencies with a total of 221 first preference votes. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams gave him a sixth preference vote in West Belfast.
Read more about this topic: Rainbow George Weiss
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“Beware the politically obsessed. They are often bright and interesting, but they have something missing in their natures; there is a hole, an empty place, and they use politics to fill it up. It leaves them somehow misshapen.”
—Peggy Noonan (b. 1950)
“The real grounds of difference upon important political questions no longer correspond with party lines.... Politics is no longer the topic of this country. Its important questions are settled... Great minds hereafter are to be employed on other matters.... Government no longer has its ancient importance.... The people’s progress, progress of every sort, no longer depends on government. But enough of politics. Henceforth I am out more than ever.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Politics is repetition. It is not change. Change is something beyond what we call politics. Change is the essence politics is supposed to be the means to bring into being.”
—Kate Millett (b. 1934)