Nigel Farage has said he will not attend the Clacton by-election count after being advised by Essex Police that there is an organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result.
Police warning over disruption
The Reform UK leader made the announcement at a gathering for supporters in Essex, nicknamed "Farage Fest" and "Clactonbury". He said: "I'm sad to say that after 33 years of being a candidate in active politics, I've been advised tonight by Essex Police that there is an organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result that will take place in a few hours' time."
Mr Farage added: "Once again it shows you the sheer intolerance, the sheer loss of fundamental democratic principles that those that went before us, fought in world wars, to fight for and preserve."
Victory predicted
He said he was not scared of the disruptors, but he would not be humiliated: "I'm not scared of these people, far from it. But I'm damned if I'm going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I've tried to fight for, and you've tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies, and I will not sadly be attending the count."
The Reform leader predicted a convincing win with "far more votes" than in the 2024 general election. He said: "I called this by-election because I wanted the people of Clacton to be my judge, not the mainstream media in Britain and the political establishment who paint us out to be criminals and bad people every day. So I asked the voters of Clacton to be my jury and the verdict has now come in, and it is a convincing, overwhelming win with more votes, on the hottest day of the year, in the middle of August, in holiday season, we have secured far more votes than we got in the general election of 2024."
