Voters in Clacton-on-Sea, a coastal town in Essex, went to the polls on Thursday, August 13, in a by-election triggered by the resignation of former MP and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The ballot featured 34 candidates, the most ever in any UK parliamentary election.
Record-breaking ballot paper
The by-election was called last month after Farage stood down as the Clacton MP. His resignation followed reports from The Sunday Times that he received financial support from a longstanding ally, which he failed to declare to parliamentary authorities after his election two years ago. It came after previous reports claimed he separately received a £5m gift from a party donor before the 2024 election, which he also didn't declare.
An investigation into Farage's dealings by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, was suspended due to the 62-year-old's resignation, but it will resume if he wins the by-election and returns to the House of Commons. In a video statement released last month, Farage said he had done nothing wrong and claimed the political establishment is out to sabotage him.
Main challenger
In a highly unusual move for a sitting MP with a healthy majority, the Reform UK leader is standing for re-election against 33 other candidates on the 3ft-long ballot paper. The Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain are not contesting the by-election, leaving Count Binface as the main challenger to Farage.
Polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm. Farage told voters that voting him back into Parliament would be a chance for them to "stick two fingers up to the entire establishment". He won the Clacton seat by a majority of more than 8,000 votes over the Tories in 2024, with Labour second and the Lib Dems a distant third.
No exit poll expected
Reform UK offered to pay for the costs involved in holding the by-election, but Downing Street says candidates are not allowed to cover election costs. Exit polls, which are common during general elections, are not usually conducted for by-elections, so the result will not be known until counting gets underway.
On August 2, a constituency poll by Survation indicated that Farage was leading the polls with about 73 per cent, with Binface polling at about 20 per cent. The same poll found that in a two-way race between Farage and Binface, Farage would win 69 per cent of the votes while Binface would get 31 per cent. Results are expected from around 5am on Friday, August 14.
