Penguin Candidate Beats Liberal Democrats In Edinburgh

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 04/05/2012 15:04 Updated: 04/05/2012 15:06

A council candidate dressed as a penguin called Professor Pongoo has received more votes than the Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh.

Professor Pongoo (real name Mike Ferrigan) was an independent candidate who had pledged to wear the penguin outfit to every council meeting if he was elected.

Prior to the election, he told STV that he wanted to bring some "lightness and humour to the affair."

It was reported in the same article that Pongoo was "a six foot penguin from planet Piper [who] stands little chance of getting elected."

As results came in, it was revealed that Professor Pongoo polled 444 votes, beating the Liberal Democrats' 370 and the Green party candidate's 322 in the bid for Pental Hills Ward for the City of Edinburgh council, reports STV.

And with support for Liberal Democrat turning distinctly frosty, Twitter users wouldn't let this humiliation go unnoticed. Pongoo's triumph marched on to Twitter in an explosion of penguin jokes.


David Kernohan
BREAKING: Penguin joins coalition government. Support melts away.


Victoria Lambert
MT : Penguin who beat LibDems in Edinbgh & polar bear who beat Tories in Lpool in coalition talks. Said to be poles apart

Even Larry the cat, a spoof account for the Number 10 feline, joined in, writing: "A penguin named Professor Pongoo got 74 more votes than the Lib Dems in Edinburgh How embarrassing; he should have beat them by at least 500"


Larry the Cat
A penguin named Professor Pongoo got 74 more votes than the Lib Dems in Edinburgh How embarrassing; he should have beat them by at least 500

On Pongoo's Facebook page 'Vote for Professor Pongo' the description reads “I’m standing as a candidate because I’m confused. You see, I’m a penguin called Professor Pongoo.

"On the planet that I come from humans do things differently and us penguins, polar bears and all living things have the food we need and the humans leave us alone by respecting our rights to co-exist alongside them in harmony. "

Seemingly Professsor Pongoo was not the only arctic animal to bring embarrassment to the coalition on Friday. BBC radio 5live reported that the Conservative Mayoral Candidate for Liverpool came 7th, behind an independent candidate dressed up a polar bear. However this is unconfirmed.

Labour's Joe Anderson became Liverpool's first elected mayor.

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  • London Mayoral Election

    Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave the polling station at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

  • Local council elections

    SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon casts her vote at Broomhouse Halls polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

  • Local council elections

    Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont at Berryknowe Resource Centre polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

  • Local council elections

    SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon arrives to cast her vote at Broomhouse Halls polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

  • Local council elections

    A voter arrives at Berryknowe Resource Centre polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

  • Local council elections

    Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont (left) and local candidate Alistair Watson (right) at Berryknowe Resource Centre polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave the polling station at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma arrive at their local polling station in north London with their son Tom, to cast their votes in the mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha arrive at the polling station in Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, before voting in the mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London with their dog Coco and children Mia and Tom after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave the polling station at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London with their dog Coco after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London after voting in mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha leave the polling station at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London after voting in mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Ken Livingstone and his wife Emma leave their local polling station in north London after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

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    Labour leader Ed Miliband and his wife Justine arrive at their local polling station in north London to vote in the mayoral and council elections.

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    Labour leader Ed Miliband and his wife Justine leave their local polling station in north London after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

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  • Local council elections

    Ballot boxes are sent out to polling stations around Edinburgh from the council headquarters ahead of the local elections tomorrow.

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    A voter arrives to cast a vote at Broomhouse Halls polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

  • Local council elections

    A voter arrives to cast a vote at Broomhouse Halls polling station in Glasgow, as Scots go to the polls today to elect their local councillors.

  • Local council elections

    Ballot boxes are sent out to polling stations around Edinburgh from the council headquarters ahead of the local elections tomorrow.

  • Local council elections

    Ballot boxes are sent out to polling stations around Edinburgh from the council headquarters ahead of the local elections tomorrow.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler leave their local polling station in London after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler arrive at their local polling station in London to vote in the mayoral and council elections.

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    Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler leave their local polling station in London after voting in the mayoral and council elections.

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    Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Party leader Nick Clegg arrives to cast his vote in the local elections at the Park Hill community centre in his constituency in Stannington in Sheffield.

  • London Mayoral Election

    Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Party leader Nick Clegg arrives to cast his vote in the local elections at the Park Hill community centre in his constituency in Stannington in Sheffield.

  • A man watches the vote count status on s

    A man watches the vote count status on screens inside City Hall in London as results are tallied in the London Mayoral and local elections on May 4, 2012. Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party took a bashing Friday in mid-term local elections, capping a bad month for the government after Britain slid back into recession. However, early vote indications showed Conservative Boris Johnson may hold on to the mayor's job in London in the year of the 2012 Olympics. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/GettyImages)

  • Two men watch the vote count status on s

    Two men watch the vote count status on screens inside City Hall as results are tallied in the London Mayoral and local elections on May 4, 2012. Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party took a bashing Friday in mid-term local elections, capping a bad month for the government after Britain slid back into recession. However, early vote indications showed Conservative Boris Johnson may hold on to the mayor's job in London in the year of the 2012 Olympics. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL (Photo credit should read LEON NEAL/AFP/GettyImages)

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    Labour leader Ed Miliband in Victoria Square, Birmingham, after Labour made significant gains in the mid-term local elections.

  • Local council elections

    Labour leader Ed Miliband in Victoria Square, Birmingham, after Labour made significant gains in the mid-term local elections.

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    Labour leader Ed Miliband congratulates Labour Group leader Sir Albert Bore (right) in Victoria Square, Birmingham, after Labour made significant gains in the mid-term local elections.

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    Edinburgh City Council votes are counted at the Meadowbank stadium, Edinburgh.

  • Local council elections

    Edinburgh City Council votes are counted at the Meadowbank stadium, Edinburgh.

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    (From left to right) First Minister Carwyn Jones, Cardiff Council leader Heather Joyce and Shadow Wales Secretary Peter Hain celebrate the party's local government election win in the Welsh capital in Queen Street, Cardiff.

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    Respect Party leader George Galloway at the party's Bradford HQ after they won five seats on the Bradford Council, including that of the Labour leader.

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    Respect Party leader George Galloway with supporters at the party's Bradford HQ after they won five seats on the Bradford Council, including that of the Labour leader.

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    Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont (right), MP Margaret Curran (left) and Labour leader Gordon Matheson at the SECC in Glasgow, as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

  • Local council elections

    Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont (left) and Labour leader Gordon Matheson at the SECC in Glasgow as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

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    Scottish Labour Leader Johann Lamont at the SECC in Glasgow as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

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    SNP Leader Allison Hunter (left) and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (right) at the SECC in Glasgow as votes are counted in the Glasgow City Council elections.

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So over 41 hours after polls opened on Thursday morning, Boris Johnson is mayor of London and we can all go to bed to dream analytical dreams about what the results mean for the country.

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Probable ETA of a declaration is about an hour, hopefully less (please)

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London Elects statement:

We have results in from 13 of the 14 constituencies in the Mayor of London and London Assembly election. The final constituency is Brent & Harrow. The Greater London Returning Officer has been in touch with the CRO for Brent & Harrow to establish the reason for a delay. All batches of ballot papers were registered and scanned. Two batches went to storage without some ballot papers being manually entered as required. Manual entry is required when a scanner cannot read a ballot paper – for example if a ballot paper is damaged. It is not an issue with the scanners. The issue was identified during the verification stage. These two batches are being re-processed. To make this happen as quickly as possible we have separated out into several smaller batches. This is why the progress screens appear to show a changing number of verified ballot papers.

We will declare as soon as possible but it is obviously important that every vote is counted.

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Well we don't entirely know. The latest is that at least two ballot boxes were found unscanned at the Brent count, and they're now being counted by hand, for some reason.

There are rumours that Ken's team has asked for a full recount in Brent, which would delay things for another few hours.

London elects thinks it'll be only another 20 mins, but they've been saying that for nearly two hours.

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@ tnewtondunn : The Sun's pollster Peter Kellner of YouGov calls it - "Boris has won. He has too big a lead for Ken to overturn".

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It's leading to a sharp narrowing in the polls between the two candidates. On 1st preference votes Boris now has 44% and Ken 40% - 8 out of 14 constituencies have now declared.

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Here's the latest.

london shocker

People are talking about 50/50 odds between Ken and Boris. The atmosphere at City Hall has changed dramatically in the past half hour.

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Ed Miliband, speaking in Southampton, has declared that Labour is "coming back".

This comes after Labour took control of Southampton from the Conservatives.

He railed against the "out of touch government in Westminster".

"David Cameron promised change, not for the better but for the worse. Today in Southampton, it is a rejection of the economic failure of this government, and the unfairness of this government". he added

He also boasted that Labour is "beating back" the SNP in Scotland.

He recognised the low turnouts, saying it showed there was "still more to do".

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Conservative MP Peter Bone has said that the PM has 'one hand tied behind his back'.

"Worst of all, we've got the Liberals holding us back" he added

The results signified the "beginning of the end of the coalition", he told the BBC.

"We're seeing Boris winning as a Conservative in London, yet the Coalition losing against Labour. So the message must be let's come out of this coalition as soon as possible." he said

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Liam Byrne, who quit the Shadow Cabinet in preparation for running for Birmingham Mayor, has just tweeted this

@ LiamByrneMP : A huge thanks to ALL who supported Yes2Mayor, Albert and me: our job now is to get 4-square behind our brilliant new Lbr council #brummayor

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@ SmithTonyD : Brum result: Leader 120,611, Mayor 88,085. 57.8 Per cent "no" #BrumVote12

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@ oflynnexpress : Brum votes No to a Mayor. Has anyone noticed people like voting No in refs? No2EU

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With 56 of 79 seats declared, Labour currently lead over the SNP by 29 to 20.

Barring a major upset, Labour will resist the SNP advance in Glasgow.

@ suemacmillan : Labour holding its majority in Glasgow is a whopper of a result. Well done @scottishlabour

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@ JenWilliamsMEN : Ian Stewart is mayor of Salford.

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@ baddogOTM : Labour win CHIPPING NORTON! David Cameron, Rebekah Brooks, Elisabeth Murdoch, Steve Hilton + Jeremy Clarkson now have a LABOUR council.

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With 166 of 181 councils declared, Labour have gained more than 700 council seats.

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Former Libdem leader Paddy Ashdown has said the Liberal Democrats should "keep on doing" what it is doing.

Speaking to the BBC, Lord Ashdown said the party's mettle has been "tested" by the results.

"The party's mettle has been tested, it has been tested before. We should keep on doing what we're doing" he said

"It doesn't look as bad in terms of hanging onto our seats that we have got as it might have been." he added.

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According to the Guardian, Ken Livingstone's team are privately conceding defeat.

They reportedly also think Boris Johnson will increase his majority.

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A council candidate dressed as a penguin called Professor Pongoo has received more votes than the Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh.

Professor Pongoo (real name Mike Ferrigan) was an independent candidate who had pledged to wear the penguin outfit to every council meeting if he was elected.

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From the votes counted so far, Labour are on 44%, Conservatives are on 33% and the Greens are on 8%.

The LibDems dwell at 7% while Ukip are on 5%.

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Harman castigated Watson for his "hold your nose and vote for Ken" comment - and was a bit hesitant to agree that Ken had been the right candidate in the first place...we thought.

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Clearly annoyed, Farage has arrived at City Hall and says that the ballot paper fail was UKIP's fault, not London Elects. But he's blaming it on UKIP's poor performance. They're currently trailing in 6th place behind Siobhan Benita

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Ukip leader Nigel Farage is reportedly furious that his party's candidate for Mayor of London, Lawrence Webb, was listed on the ballot paper as Fresh Choice for London.

webb

He says it was a 'cockup which undoubtedly cost UKIP votes' and could have helped Boris Johnson's bid for four more years at City Hall.

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Also here is a round-up from HuffPost of Tory dissent following the local elections drubbing. A few themes emerge. Many Tories think House of Lords reform is a distraction - a couple but don't like gay marriage, but the overwhelming narrative is there needs to be a growth strategy.

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In an update to previous news about the BNP's difficulties, it has emerged that the party has lost every single one of the 12 seats it has been defending.

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@ Kevin_Maguire : Looks like Labour will win London but lose the Mayoralty, getting most votes/seats in the Assembly but Blue Boris beats Red Ken

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@ StewartHosieMP : 16 out of 16 #SNP win outright control of Dundee

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A council candidate dressed as a penguin called Professor Pongoo has received more votes than the Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh. Professor Pongoo (real name Mike Ferrigan) was an independent candi...
A council candidate dressed as a penguin called Professor Pongoo has received more votes than the Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh. Professor Pongoo (real name Mike Ferrigan) was an independent candi...
 
 
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01:43 AM on 05/07/2012
When Pongoo was asked what his favourite joke was he replied "Nick Clegg"
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Mickey Mouse 1
There are no lies or deceit on a chess board.
10:34 PM on 05/05/2012
Edinburgh is a beautiful city scarred by self serving politicians who seem to despise the people they represent. Little wonder that people voted for a penquin!
07:49 PM on 05/05/2012
Rotten borough!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
BuxtonBlueCat
Most beautiful cat in the world! :)
06:12 PM on 05/05/2012
How wonderful to have a penguin on the council! He will no doubt cool down some of the hot air that blows endlessly about in council chambers. It really does sum up what politics is all about.
This comment has been removed.
01:00 PM on 05/05/2012
I can't understand why people are turning against the LibDems.
They are such honest, truthful politicians who always stick to the promises (written or otherwise) that they make to the run up to elections. And they are not interested in power or their self-importance.
Also, they are so pleasant and fight the corner of the ordinary working people.
Take Danny Alexander, for example, he is so likeable and comes up with such good ideas for George Osborne.
Also Nick Clegg, whatever comes out of his mouth is so genuine.
And David Laws is such an honest man that you can always trust.
04:02 PM on 05/05/2012
Severus, I hate to dispel yr rosy picture of them but..... They reneged on their election pledge conc education for a start. They sacrificed just about every principle they had for a 'go' at being in "power".. Remember "All power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely!!
03:10 PM on 05/06/2012
OK we get the joke as cynical as it reads
12:29 PM on 05/05/2012
I reckon he could have beat Boris - there are striking similiarities, the inane smirking grin, protuberant eyes no sense of reality unusual waddling walk. Tends to dribble and squak when excited.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ben Wilson
What's the story mourning Tories?
11:17 AM on 05/05/2012
Lembit Opik rushes out to buy a Penguin Suit, some Penguin chocolate bars, A penguin book, Batman Retuns and books a holiday in Antartica.
12:59 PM on 05/05/2012
Brilliant. Somthing to make us smile, thank you Ben !!
10:50 AM on 05/05/2012
It's not looking good for Edinburgh then. When will the scots finally push off so we can get rid of labour forever. Viva Alex Salmon or whatever his name is.
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10:02 PM on 05/05/2012
Sadly your wish will not come true. Scottish seats rarely affect the outcome of Westminster elections. We all get the government that England votes for, whether we like it or not.
10:13 PM on 05/05/2012
I hardly think that holds water. Your MP counts as much as mine.
katertaif
My wife thinks I have one fault. Everything I do!
09:11 AM on 05/05/2012
What is the problem with people in fancy dress standing for public office? MP's have been doing it disguised as statesmen, and politicians for years, and we have fallen for it big time.
09:00 AM on 05/05/2012
I'd like to know when will these clowns of all parties realize the electorate are sick of the lot of them and their policies of beating to a pulp the ordinary voter. Tories are actually thinking that the lib results around the country mean the voters are more for their ridiculous rob the poor policies, never mind out of touch, they'll be kicked into touch in 2015, Turkeys don't vote for christmas, not that the alternative is much better, too many career politicians have destroyed this country with their policies, a little common sense in government wouldn't go amiss.
05:23 PM on 05/06/2012
well said
08:59 AM on 05/05/2012
Lovely little tale.but the big news took place in London when a orang-utan dress up as a Man and was Voted Mayor of London Again!!
09:48 AM on 05/05/2012
Thats very rude to orang-utans!
10:40 AM on 05/05/2012
honestttaxpayer,Yes it was very rude of me,and I do apologize to any orang-utans
that have read this on line and taken offence,(except to the one called Boris)LOL
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
George McAulay
Delighted to meet you
01:59 PM on 05/05/2012
Ha Ha

F & F Al from Down Under

Nice to see the smugness from the Tories faces wiped off.
05:25 AM on 05/05/2012
Prof Pongoo should now replace Nick Clegg on the front bench.
10:09 AM on 05/05/2012
The increase in IQ and competence could create a problem!
05:25 PM on 05/06/2012
Pongoo for PM, no wait, he is already there.
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vividrick
I came, I saw...I had a cup of tea!
02:08 AM on 05/05/2012
If Nessie had stood, he'd have beaten him.
09:35 AM on 05/05/2012
SHE'd have beaten him - sexist!
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Christos Palmer
Χριστός Παλμερ
01:59 AM on 05/05/2012
Not really all that hard to beat the ConDems now is it?