Aspiring politician from Chingford changes his name by UK Deed Poll to None Of The Above (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Aspiring politician from Chingford changes his name by UK Deed Poll to None Of The Above

1:26pm Tuesday 5th January 2010 in

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AN aspiring MP has gone to extreme lengths to protest against the three main political parties.

Adam Osen, 50, has officially changed his name to None Of The Above and hopes to attract support from disillusioned voters as an independent parliamentary candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green.

The move was suggested by Mr Above’s brother, Gideon, who took the idea from the film Brewster’s Millions, which sees a character run a political campaign under the same slogan.

The former Mr Osen, a painter and decorator of Woodberry Way in Chingford, said his wife, Rebecca, 43, tried to talk him out of the move and many did not believe he would go through with it.

However, he admitted his two children, Gabrielle, 18, and Michael, 15, were less surprised as he has a reputation for coming up with “off the wall” ideas.

Mr Above, or None as he is known to friends, has lost faith in Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties since the MPs’ expenses scandal.

He is currently developing his manifesto with the help of his 79-year-old mother and campaign manager, Doris Olsen, and promises to listen to want his constituents want.

He said: “When my brother suggested it, I thought it was a brilliant idea.

“It is necessary to have a gimmick as an independent candidate because there are so few of us and I think it will attract a lot of people who are disillusioned with politics.

"People change their name all the time for different reasons, some when they get married, and many people are known by different names than what is on their birth certificate.”

He has been canvassing with his 79-year-old mother and campaign manager, Doris Olsen, and said some of the issues he is discussing with voters are education, law and order, identity cards and antisocial youths.

The former Mr Osen was one of 50,000 people in the UK to change his name by UK Deed Poll last year, an eight per cent increase on the year before.

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