UK parliament could 'Feel the Larry!'

With the "Feel the Bern!" meme from Bernie Sanders' Democratic presidential campaign still fresh in people's minds, British voters could be about to "Feel the Larry!" instead.

Sanders' older brother Larry is preparing to stand for the Green Party in a by-election to replace former UK Prime Minister David Cameron. He was picked by the party on Thursday night.

Cameron, who resigned following the British referendum decision to leave the EU, is quitting politics altogether and will relinquish his parliamentary seat of Witney next month.

Larry Sanders, who moved to Britain in 1968, is a retired lawyer and social worker. Married until the death of his wife in 1983, he holds joint US-British citizenship.

The 88-year-old has been a member of the Green party since 2001, after several years as an activist with the main opposition Labour party. He is currently the Green party's health spokesman.

Larry Sanders, who was educated at Harvard and Oxford universities, said he was inspired by his brother's success in the Democratic race for the White House, which Bernie lost to Hillary Clinton.

"Bernie showed that if you can get a hearing and make a clear case, that many more people than expected will listen," said the wannabe MP.

A media release from the Green Party cited him as saying: "We need to show that we don't want Britain to be the most unequal country in Europe. This is a rich, capable and decent country. We can do better."

The elder Sanders said he would be stealing all of his brother's policies but wouldn't take advice on how to run his campaign.

Campaign spending capped

The Green candidate will have nowhere near the same budget to spend on campaigning.

While Bernie Sanders raised an estimated $234 million (208 million euros) to run for US President, British by-elections have a 100,000 pound ($130,000, 115,000 euro) spending limit per candidate, according to Election Commission rules. In reality, the Green party is likely to spend a lot less.

Bernie Sanders will not officially endorse his brother's campaign, due to unwritten rules that prevent foreign politicians from intervening in domestic elections, "The Guardian" newspaper reported.

Most analysts have put Sanders' chances of winning Cameron's constituency at or close to zero, as Witney - in the county of Oxfordshire - is a safe seat for the center-right Conservative party, which currently governs the UK.

Cameron, who has held the seat since 2001, won more than 35,000 votes in last year's general election, compared to 2,970 for the Green candidate.

The Conservatives have put forward barrister and local councilor Robert Courts to represent them.

The Witney by-election takes place on 20 October.