By Aled Herbert, 3 May 2002 11:50
NEWS In an result that's likely to send shockwaves through the British political landscape, the good people of Hartlepool have elected a monkey as mayor. The monkey in question is H'Angus, the simian mascot of Hartlepool United football club, also known as 28-year-old call centre manager Stuart Drummond. Besides opening up an entire new career path for call centre workers, the victory will bring H'Angus into direct contact with local Labour MP Peter Mandelson - himself once involved in some monkey business with a rather suspect loan. H'Angus beat Labour's candidate by 603 votes in the second round. His electoral pledge was to supply bananas to schoolchildren in lieu of milk. silicon.com extends its best wishes to H'Angus, who it emerges is a bit of a cheeky monkey. In a rather chequered past, H'Angus has managed to get himself ejected from two football grounds for inappropriate behaviour. In November 2000 he got overly friendly with a female ground steward, while last year he was thrown out of Blackpool's stadium for improper behaviour with an inflatable doll. So he should feel right at home in politics. And like all great politicians, Drummond (who lives with his mother) has already abandoned his roots and resigned from his football mascot role. He told a news conference he wants to be taken seriously. "The [people of Hartlepool] don't want a big, furry 7ft monkey, they want somebody who is serious, who is best for the town, who wants to put their thoughts forward," he reportedly said. Drummond later refused the offer of a banana as he posed for photographs and walked away. H'Angus' victory marks a landmark week for monkeys in IT, after a legal battle kicked off for the rights to ITV Digital's Monkey puppet. Have a banana...
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