On Thursday 12 November, millions of Britons took to the polls to vote in the UK’s third general election in five years. But in the aftermath of the results, one story got lost amidst headlines dominated by the Conservative victory and Labour wipeout — the fate of Bucks Fizz singer Jay Aston and her bid to win a seat for the Brexit Party.
Jay Aston — General Election 2019 Results
One quarter of the Eurovision 1981 winning group, the singer stood for election under her married name Jay Aston Colquhounis. As a member of Nigel Farrage’s Brexit Party, she ran on a platform focused on securing the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.
However, voters in London’s Kensington constituency don’t appear to have bought into her message, or at least her version of it. That’s because Jay only managed to achieve 348 votes, placing her fifth in the final poll.
By comparison, the constituency’s poll topper Felicity Buchan achieved 16,768 votes for the Conservatives. However, there is a chance that Jay is indirectly responsible for denying the Labour Party a seat. The party’s sitting MP Emma Dent Coad missed out by just 180 votes, getting a total of 16,618.
London Kensington constituency results — General Election 2019
- Felicity Buchan, Conservative, 16,768
- Emma Dent Coad, Labour, 16,618
- Sam Gyimah, Liberal Democrat, 9,312
- Vivien Lichtenstein, Green, 535
- Jay Aston Colquhoun, The Brexit Party, 384
- Roger Phillips, Christian Peoples Alliance, 70
- Harriet Gore, Touch Love Worldwide, 47
- Scott Dore, Workers Revolutionary Party, 28
Jay Aston isn’t the first Eurovision winner involved in EU politics. Ireland’s first winner Dana Scallon served as a member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004. Ukraine’s first Eurovision winner Ruslana is a pro-EU activist and peace campaigner.
Jay, the Fizz and Brexit
In 2016, former Bucks Fizz members Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston were booked to play the pro-Brexit music festival and political rally Bpoplive, after a number of high-profiles acts pulled out. However the event was cancelled. At the time, the trio said they did not endorse either the Leave or Remain campaigns.
Earlier this year, the three singers — who now perform as The Fizz — uploaded a parody of their iconic Eurovision performance. While lip-syncing to “Making Your Mind Up”, Jay and Cheryl performed a skirt-rip, where European Union flags were pulled away to reveal Union Jack underpants.
Making their mind up ?? #Brexit #parliament #Eurovision #EU #BucksFizz #Indecision pic.twitter.com/DhJWj93JOl
— Jay Aston (@JayAstonC) April 5, 2019
Jay has also had a somewhat gloomy perspective on the UK’s fortunes at Eurovision. Last year, when asked about the UK at Eurovision, she said:
“I’m not sure we can win again, I think it would be miraculous if the UK could win. We have sent some good things over and we’ve always come in the bottom five. There’s no way we would want to do it again, I wouldn’t mind reading out the points though.”
Fellow Fizz member Cheryl Baker has been more supportive of the UK’s Eurovision efforts. In 2018 she cheered on SuRie, tweeting “We have a chance in #Eurovision2018! Superb singer, superb song.”
Bucks Fizz represented the UK at Eurovision 1981. The group performed the upbeat pop song “Making Your Mind Up”. It won the contest, giving the UK their fourth Eurovision win. “Making Your Mind Up” was a huge international hit, reaching No.1 in eight countries.
However, recent UK Eurovision entries have not fared as well. In the past decade, boyband Blue had the best chart placing with 16th for “I Can”. The UK’s most recent entry “Bigger Than Us” did not not make the top 100 of the UK singles chart.
and don’t forget Nana Mouskouri who was EP member and Maria Seriftovic and Ekstra Nena who supported dubious nationalistic Serbian parties.
The fact that she won a pro-European contest doesn’t mean that she has to be pro-EU her whole life. Eurovision is (at least in theory) an apolitical contest, so I don’t see how one thing affects the other. And it’s not even like all the countries participating in ESC are EU-members, so… what’s the deal?
Right. Even apart from today’s non-members, back in 1981, countries like Sweden, Finland, Austria, Spain & Portugal were years off joining the EU.
Ironic of her to even want to join the Brexit Party after winning a pro-EU contest! What she and the rest of Buck Fizz should be doing instead is campaigning for BBC to drop out of the Big 5 status so that there’s money left for the stage production, how about that??
Funny enough, I’d say staging is probably the least of the kinks the UK have to sort out with their entries. 2010, 2014, and 2015 are the only entries this decade where I didn’t think the staging was good.
I mean the 2015 staging was expensive but I get what you mean
As we say here in America, “Put a bowtie on a pig, it’s still a pig.” (Granted, a pig in a bowtie would be adorable as opposed to cringey and outdated, so the metaphor isn’t perfect).
NO! I HATE THAT IDEA
Brexit is stupid, and so is she. The UK have sent plenty of good entries, but only two good winners. This ain’t one of them.
What are the good two? 1997 & 1977?
Bingo! (And technically it’s ‘76, but Rock Bottom also slaps)
I meant 1976! I’m slipping… 🙁
Speaking personally, I find it a lot more endearing to watch the adorable guys in Brotherhood of Man recreate the little dance years later than to watch Bucks Fizz desperately remind people that they were the skirt-tearing group.
Oh, I can’t stand ’97. I think it was a good year overall, but the winner didn’t reflect that at all – I like Katrina’s other songs, yet “Love…” was as generic, repetitive and dull as you can get. Speaking of UK’s winners, I like all of them, yet I think only 1976 was a fully deserved one. On the other hand I’d say there were 6 songs (namely ’88 (!), ’93, ’96, ’02, ’65, ’59) that would have been awesome additions to the winners’ line-up.
PS “Rock Bottom” doesn’t slap. It rocks.
I like the song a lot, I just hate the “let the love light carry” line – is that even a phrase? I agree with most of your winner-level suggestions, except 1993. Sonia is the one who made that entry great, with her charismatic performance on the night with the live orchestra. The studio version is cheap and awful.
Sonia ruined her own chances in her purple jumpsuit. ? Brittish fashion… LOL. i prefer Niamh Kavanagh anyway…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_(UK_Parliament_constituency)#Elections_in_the_2010s — she was fifth not fourth as there was one candidate above her representing the Greens and two other minor party candidates below here. Stupid has-been with her has-been pop group that should have threw the towel in years ago. As for her politics, she’s one of the “saner” ones even if I support a softer Brexit (and gutted Labour didn’t win there, but I accept why we lost). She came above a Christian fanatic party who are opposed to abortion, LGBT rights and believe in “the family” even if your spouse beats you. The Touch Love Worldwide –… Read more »
Thanks for the this! The story has been updated with the complete results.
“We have sent some good songs”
Well with that mindset that’s both deluded and reality ignoring no wonder she joined the Brexit Party..
didn’t blue get 11th in 2011?
“We have sent some good things over…”
If this is your perspective on the UK entries at Eurovision, I really doubt that you have the insight and analytic abilities to get involved in politics.
You can’t judge a current country or population on her past. Although we can on the current voting in of the Tories…. Goodness me the current population is bonkers.
Since when did we start listening to has-beens?
Well at least she tried I guess, one interesting fact about the UK election outcome is there are more LGBT MPs in Westminster than any other parliament/government in the world right now! But people will keep saying Britain is homophobic and transphobic… ¯\_(?)_/¯
Too little, too late, after you poisoned cultures.
I don’t know, I would say if she took votes off Labour and put the Conservatives into power, I would say that’s a job well done!
You’re right, you don’t know.
This is the perfect opportunity for the UK to send something along the lines of High School Musical’s “Breaking Free” or Frozen’s “Let it go”. The timing is perfect and it would be totally hilarious! And the really funny thing is if they did, they would probably win!
Your delusion knows no bounds. Although, speaking as an EU citizen, I will be very glad to “break free” from an embarrassing, shameless & incompetent Westminster…so maybe you’re onto something.
At last Jonas, something we can agree on! Westminster has been truly awful. And don’t worry, you’ll soon get your wish!
Am I the only one who finds making all your fame and fortune from an European competition and then making a political career by bashing Europe a bit hypocritical?
Exactly. She’s a disgrace…
I’m not a Brexiteer, I think Brexit is a disgrace – but no, it’s not hypocritcal. Just because she won a European-wide song contest 40 years ago doesn’t mean she is beholden to the European Union (not related to the EBU) forever more.
This. It’s not like ESC and UE hasn’t changed a bit for 40 years. She wouldn’t even participate in current ESC I bet. I’m not going to agree with what she says, but past is the past.
sorry but she sold millions of copies of “Making your Mind Up” to EU countries, which mimics the idea of free trade and free movement of labor. If she wants national sovereignty so much, I think she should put her money where her mouth is, and return all the proceeds of her Eurovision glory, No? I know I am exaggerating a bit, but I think I have a valid point here.
The EU only came to exist in its current form in 1993 – just because Jay won a song contest eleven years previously doesn’t mean she has to endorse the Maastricht Treaty or the Lisbon Treaty, or mean she loses to right to change her political opinions over the years. Like I said, I am very pro-EU, but I don’t really see your logic.
OK, let me make a very simple for you: She won in Dublin in 1981, in a country other than hers. She was freely able to travel there. She may or may not have needed visa. If she needed one, obviously she was granted. Then she sold her LPs in 45s all over Europe. She did not need a work permit if she was going for gigs. She enjoyed many benefits of free labor movement, lower or non existent taxes/tariffs/quotas…etc. And now, she tries to take away the very same benefits she enjoyed from other people. This is my problem… Read more »
Let them stay on their island and entertain themselves. They need a reality check. It was too good for them, for too long, and they take things for granted, just because the grandfather is very happy about how things came to normal after ww2. They live in a fairytale.
I don’t need you to make it simple for me. Thank you all the same. I understand your point perfectly well, and I disagree. Is that allowed? She didn’t need a visa to enter Ireland, but that has nothing to do with EU membership. It’s a reciprocal arrangement between the two countries that will continue even after the UK leave the EU. I’m not sure how much success the band had in EU countries (EEC as it was then) but I think you may be overestimating it. Whatever success they did have was not dependent on EEC membership. They recorded… Read more »
Just a tiny bit
To be fair, Europe and the EU are not exactly the same thing.
But she took advantage of tax-free EU market.
I don’t understand anything about UK politics, all I can see is that they are very proud of their glorious past, and they think that being patriotic solves everything, just like 100 ago during wars. They say that in the end, they can go back to Commonwealth. What? Your queen has stolen jewels on her crown, do you want to go back to stealing from India, or what?
tbh they shouldn’t be proud of anything bc colonialism did make them richer, but also created problems to the countries they controlled that still exist today. british colonialism was truly the worst
UK brought dowry tradition to India, this is why girls are not wanted in families, because parents must pay dowry to marry them.
Apart from the Roman Empire, that was probably worse.
To be fair, let’s not forget 2018 host, Portugal, that owned half of the world, and is still proud of it, all abord. All abord????
what is the alternative ? despising yourself and filling your country with millions of violent immigrants ?
the uk did the right thing.
Poland and Hungary rejected immigrants. They are not so important as UK, yet they could reject Merkel plan. Why UK was made to believe that they cant reject immigrants without EXIT? Flash News : UK could have sayd NO to many things, BREXIT was not needed. You have been played.
https://www.euronews.com/2019/11/01/poland-hungary-and-czech-republic-broke-eu-law-by-refusing-to-take-in-migrants
the way those eastern european countries get away with it with no consequences issa mystery to me. i guess migrants don’t want to live there so start with
As if there was no middle ground between blind nationalism and self-loathing.
They really have no moral highground when it comes to immigration, considering they pillaged half of the planet.
the right thing was to leave africa/asia alone lmao the british empire is literally the reason why heavy anti-gay laws exist in places like uganda/kenya/zimbabwe/used to exist in india. the uk’s immigration problem where many migrants failed to integrate is the good old clown coming back to bite.
Aren’t you from Italy? Let’s not talk about Italy’s past either luv…
let’s talk bout it ! we ruled eritrea for 60 years, then the british empire absorbed it in ww2 and gave it to ethiopia, throwing it into decades of civil war. time to acknowledge the fact that the british empire was one of the most fatal and unethical institutions in history whose actions from the past still have an impact in the countries it affected today, and that there’s no excuse to be proud of it.
At least it wasn’t f a s c i s t