The Top 10: Bizarre endorsements

From Keir Hardie to Frank Field and Chris Christie...

Chris Christie, left, thinking, 'What have I done?' Photo: Reuters

After Chris Christie withdrew from the presidential race and unconvincingly praised Donald Trump, I compared him to the Eurosceptic John Redwood, who backed the Europhile Kenneth Clarke for the Conservative leadership in 1997. Will Mosseri-Marlio suggested it would make a good list.

1. Keir Hardie, leader of the Independent Labour Party, was called "catspaw of the Tories" when he endorsed several Unionists (Conservatives) over Liberals in the 1892 and 1895 elections. Hardie understood that the Labour movement could be represented in the Commons only at the Liberals' expense. Sunder Katwala ‏admits this is "a bit niche".

2. Enoch Powell urged people to vote Labour in both 1974 elections, because it offered a referendum on membership of the European Community.

3. Hugh Trevor-Roper, professor of modern history, authenticated the Hitler diaries, 1983. Proposed by John Peters. ‏

4. ‏Tony Benn endorsed David Davis, Tory former leadership contender, in the 2008 Haltemprice by-election, a protest against Labour’s civil liberties record. Thanks to David Osland.

5. ‏Johnny Rotten and Country Life Butter, 2008. Advertised by Jonathan Krause. Or we could have had ‏the teetotal David Beckham endorsing Haig whisky, 2015 (Alex Briggs).

6. ‏Robert Mugabe backed the Tories, 2010. "Conservatives are bold. Blair and Brown run away when they see me, but not these fools, they know how to relate to others." Sunder Katwala again.

7. ‏Nicola Sturgeon definitely did not tell the French ambassador that she hoped David Cameron would win in 2015, as Calum Henderson reminds us.

8. ‏Norman Tebbit for Scottish Labour, 2015. It was “logical” to vote Labour where Conservatives stood no chance, he said. Thanks to Mike Martin. Market House Books points out that Lord Tebbit had also praised Gordon Brown as the “heir to Thatcher” in 2007.

9. Russell Brand, who wrote a whole book about how people shouldn’t vote, then urged them to do so for Ed Miliband, 2015. It almost swung the election. Nominated by Mark D.

10. Frank Field, the resolutely centrist Labour MP, nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership in 2015, because he believed that the party's "emotional spasm" needed to be challenged. Corbyn's nominators also included Margaret Beckett and Sadiq Khan.

Next week: Songs in which someone is callously left to die for narrative convenience (such as “Oh My Darling, Clementine”).

Coming soon: Job titles (starting with the Deputy Director in Charge of the Solar System, at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory).

Your suggestions, and ideas for future Top 10s, in the comments please, or to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk