Former MP Nigel Farage will seek to regain the parliamentary seat he gave up just over a month ago on Thursday, August 13. The Clacton by-election is one of the more bizarre political contests to take place in recent years, with a total of 33 candidates standing, but none from any of the main political parties.
A Contest Without Main Parties
The Labour Party, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain all ruled out challenging Mr Farage, with a spokesperson for Labour labelling the affair a "circus" and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch describing the election as "fake".
The entire debacle began in May when Mr Farage became the subject of a standards inquiry after he did not make public a £5 million gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before the last election, as revealed by The Guardian in April. Weeks later, another inquiry commenced over allegations that the 62-year-old was financially supported by the crypto gambler and convicted fraudster George Cottrell, who is a close friend.
Resignation and Reaction
The revelations prompted a row in Westminster between Mr Farage and opposition parties, along with extensive media coverage of his financial affairs. In a video statement released on 7 July, the former UKIP leader said he had done nothing wrong and described the parliamentary investigations as a "political tool".
Announcing his decision to force a by-election Mr Farage said he wanted to let "the people of Clacton be the judges of my actions". In a video statement, Mr Farage lashed out at the media for “haranguing” his family, claiming the Times had published an image of his daughter's house leading to unwanted attention from journalists and Sky News had 'lied' about contacting his family.
Announcing his resignation, the Reform UK leader said: “The issue with my daughter was the final straw. Enough is enough. And I thought over the weekend, what shall I do? I could go out and try and make some real big money. I could go to the USA, where I’ve got plenty of offers. And then I thought, why should I be judged today, or in history in the future, by Sky News and their ilk? Why should they be the people that decide my fate? When, as I repeat, I have done nothing wrong.
“I thought about it hard and I have decided today I will resign as a Member of Parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, thereby forcing a by-election, which should happen, I hope, in short order.
"Now I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by-election. It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire Establishment to frankly tell them where to go, and that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election.
“I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started, and I would say this to you, the voters of Clacton, if I win, you win, because if I lose, they win, and we will never with the two old parties get the type of fundamental change that we need to fix broken Britain.”
Potential Consequences
His resignation has put a pause on Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg’s investigation into his financial affairs – but it will be resumed if Mr Farage wins the by-election and returns to Parliament. If he is found to have breached the rules and is suspended for more than 10 sitting days it could trigger a recall petition – potentially leading to another Clacton by-election.
Mr Farage 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. With those opposition parties out of the running tomorrow, Count Binface of the Count Binface Party has emerged as his strongest contender.
Actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox is also running, while three candidates from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party – Nick The Incredible Flying Brick, its leader Alan "Howling Laud" Hope and Baron Von Thunderclap - will be hoping to cause an upset.
On 2 August, a constituency poll by Survation indicated that Mr Farage was leading the polls with about 73%, with Binface polling at about 20%. The same poll found that in a two-way race between Mr Farage and Count Binface, Mr Farage would win 69% of the votes while Binface would get 31%.
The reality of the race will become clear on Friday (14 August), when the ballots are fully counted.
