Screaming Lord Sutch, leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, said last night that the election of his deputy as a town mayor was "the best news I've ever had". Mr Alan Hope (55), owner of the Golden Lion hotel in Ashburton, Devon, which hosts the party's conference each autumn, was elected chairman and town mayor of Ashburton Town Council.
Lord Sutch, who describes himself as party leader and prime minister-in-waiting, said: "He's the world's first loony lord mayor. "It's the best news I've ever had. I've lost so many elections - it's the first thing I've won. We're going to have a meeting to see whether to fling him out of the party for being too successful."
