Nigel Farage's Clacton by-election battle, set for August 13, could cost taxpayers around £250,000, according to a council official. The Mirror is asking readers if this is a waste of money.
The Reform UK leader is facing 34 candidates, the most ever in a parliamentary election, including comedy candidate Count Binface. The ballot paper will be just under a metre long, and the cost of printing and running the election is about four times that of the General Election.
Cost breakdown
Ian Davidson, chief executive of Tendring District Council, said: "We've got 34 candidates, which is the most number of candidates any parliamentary election has ever had. And the ballot paper is just under a metre long. The cost of actually printing, running, and posting things like that is about four times the cost of the General Election where we had five candidates."
He added: "We're anticipating around a quarter of a million, about £250,000. Most of that is paid by government, but not all. Tendring Council will have to pay some of the cost because we're having to put a lot of additional measures in place which are not what would be in the normal parliamentary by-election costs."
Political context
Farage triggered the by-election by resigning as an MP amid a Commons probe over a £5million gift from a Thai-based crypto billionaire, Christopher Harborne. He has faced accusations of undeclared donations and a "political stunt" to distract from sleaze allegations.
When Farage offered for his party to pay the cost of the contest, a Labour source dismissed the offer. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper called the move a "political tantrum," and others have labeled it a "distraction."
An Ipsos poll showed 33% of respondents would prefer Count Binface to win, compared to 21% for Farage.
