The Beer, Baccy and Crumpet party has been ordered to change its name by the Electoral Commission because it's "demeaning" to women.
The party, which is campaigning to abolish excise duty on draught beer, has been told it has to change its name or be disqualified from appearing on ballot papers in May's general election.
Party leader Ray Hall told BuzzFeed News he is "pissed off" because he's already spent £4,000 on Beer, Baccy and Crumpet campaigning materials that he'll now have to bin.
"I've really been nobbled here – the timing is terrible," said Hall. "Everything is geared up for the Beer, Baccy and Crumpet party with the leaflets and the website and so on, and there's only two months to go now.
"This is like being in a race and having to drop out and start again."
The Electoral Commission deemed the word "crumpet" offensive as it is "likely to be considered as describing women as a sexual object".
This is an excerpt from a letter Hall received on Monday:
Hall strongly denied that "crumpet" was intended to be offensive to women, instead claiming that it was actually an elaborate acronym.
"C is for crime, R is for rates, M is for money, E education, T is taxation – it was a clever little gimmick really," he said. "But also, it epitomised the working-class guy who likes a pint of beer, a cigarette, and a bit of a joke in the pub – an ordinary working-class guy."
Hall suspects that there has been foul play, and that one of the bigger parties in the area is attempting to sabotage his campaign.
"I think this has been done on purpose," he said. "I think somebody in the larger parties has been telling tales to the Electoral Commission – no one has ever complained about the name to me, usually they just smile."
Hall said he had "one or two ideas" about a new name to call the party, the best of which, he said, was adding an "s" to "crumpet": "If they object to crumpet, because it's offensive and sexist, I'll add an 's' to the end of 'crumpet' which would not refer to females but refer to the crumpet cakes."
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission confirmed that the name had been deemed too offensive, and added:
We have removed the name from the register. We have informed the party leader that we're committed to work with him to ensure that any alternative name he supplies is suitable. We will prioritise any proposals that he submits.