Nigel Farage has claimed he never wanted to step down as Clacton's MP and force a by-election – but the political establishment made him do it.
Speaking to Metro ahead of tomorrow's vote in the seat he held until his sensational resignation last month, the Reform leader set out his stall for Essex constituents. He said it had been 'one of the greatest privileges of my life' to spend two years as MP for Clacton, during which he had 'stood up and spoken up for the people'.
Farage added: 'I did not want to resign as your MP and have this by-election. But the political establishment forced it upon me.'
Promises to Clacton
'My promises to Clacton are simple: I will always be accountable to you; I will always take on Westminster for you; I will always fight to fix broken Britain for you.'
The party leader made his announcement on July 7 as he faced pressure over scrutiny of an undeclared £5 million 'gift' he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
An investigation into whether Farage should have disclosed that income, conducted by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, was paused when he left the House of Commons. It is set to begin again if he is re-elected to the seat tomorrow.
Potential second by-election
If the commissioner finds he did break the rules, it could force a second by-election in the constituency – one in which the major parties are more likely to compete. Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain all decided not to run in the current campaign after deriding Farage's move as a stunt.
That left novelty candidate Count Binface as his main opposition, and polls have indicated more Brits would prefer the 'intergalactic space warrior' to come out on top.
When he announced his resignation in a speech streamed on social media, Farage said he had reached his decision after thinking over the previous weekend. He said: '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?'
Record number of candidates
'Why should they be the people that decide my fate when, as I repeat, I've done nothing wrong?' The 'people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions', he added, declaring the vote would provide 'a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment'.
Despite the lack of participation from any of the UK's main parties, the Clacton by-election has broken the record for number of candidates. There are 34 people standing for election – though one pulled out after getting on the ballot – meaning voters will have to tackle a 90cm-long strip of paper when they enter the polling booth.
