Cecil G. Murgatroyd

Cecil Godfrey Murgatroyd (22 May 1958 – 21 May 2001) was mainly known for being involved in New Zealand national politics along with Australian Federal and State politics, and for his role in the 1998 Australian Constitutional convention. From 1981 until his death in 2001 he was generally associated with running, and standing as a candidate for, two non-serious parties, the Imperial British Conservative Party (IBCP) and the McGillicuddy Serious Party (McGSP), which both operated in the two countries. Murgatroyd's platforms were typically absurdist and of a 'pataphysical nature.

Murgatroyd was initially active in New Zealand politics in the early 1980s, as a candidate for the (then) Wizard of Christchurch's IBCP and as the founder of the Waikato Cavalry Regiment of Alf's Imperial Army in the city of Hamilton. In the 1981 election he stood in the Waipa electorate for the Wizard or IBC party, and came fourth with 125 votes.

In 1982 he moved to Melbourne. It was there he set up the Australian headquarters of the McGillicuddy Serious Party in 1984. After his move to Australia, he stood in elections there too against, among others, Prime Minister Bob Hawke in two federal elections in the 1980s and 1990s. Bob Hawke likened him to the rear end of a donkey. He often returned to New Zealand to contest parliamentary elections also, using tactics he described as being designed for "making elections interesting". In 1990 the McGillicuddy Serious Party invited him back to New Zealand to contest the seat of Christchurch North against New Zealand Prime Minister Mike Moore. In this campaign he described himself as the McGSP's "Prime Ministerial specialist" due to his experience in Australia. Murgatroyd's aim in life was to be the first ever election candidate to not collect even one single vote, a record he hoped to achieve upon his return to New Zealand.

Murgatroyd was also involved in the Australian Constitutional Convention, being a candidate under the ticket "Queen Anne of Australia".

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