TV Picks Convict for Race

LONDON — A television contest to choose a candidate for a seat in Britain’s Parliament produced an unexpected winner — a convicted con man with a platform to emasculate all child molesters and deport 20 million immigrants.

Rodney Hylton-Potts, a 59-year-old former lawyer, was picked by viewers of the ITV network’s “Vote For Me” talent contest to run as an independent parliamentary candidate in the nation’s upcoming general election, expected this spring.

Flush with victory, Mr. Hylton-Potts announced that his immediate goal is to unseat Michael Howard, the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, in his constituency in southeast England. “I think it is goodbye Michael for this seat,” he said.

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Mr. Hylton-Potts ran on a platform that he described as a “cabbie’s manifesto,” calling for the mandatory castration of pedophiles, the legalization of all drugs, a massive program of prison building, and the deportation of 20 million immigrants.

“I won because of the cabbie vote,” he insisted.

He said the cabdrivers he talked to all favored his anti-immigration stance. “People didn’t vote for me. They voted for that policy.” ITV appeared a bit stunned by the vote result.

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