Nigel Farage won the Clacton by-election with 22,239 votes but did not attend the official count at Clacton Leisure Centre, where Count Binface, a character created by comedian Jon Harvey, gained nearly 10,000 votes. Farage had pre-empted the result by declaring himself the winner and then said he would not attend the declaration, citing an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result” allegedly warned by Essex Police.
Threat claim disputed
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Essex Police advised Nigel not to attend the count tonight due to a credible threat against him.” However, local sources said Essex Police did not tell Farage or any other candidate not to attend. A force spokesman said: “We have a proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count.” Ian Davidson, the acting returning officer and chief executive, said he did not believe there was any threat serious enough for the count to be called off.
Two possible explanations
One possibility is that Farage was genuinely warned of a threat, especially after the killing of Ann Widdecombe at her Dartmoor home. The other is that he avoided being photographed next to Count Binface. The by-election became a two-horse race after other main parties declined to contest it. Farage improved his support from 46.2% at the 2024 general election to 63.3%, with turnout at 44.37%. Count Binface won 26.9% of the vote.
Political fallout
Farage now returns to Parliament facing a renewed inquiry into a £5 million donation from cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne and possible investigation over support from George Cottrell. If found to have broken rules, he could be suspended from the Commons for at least ten days, triggering another by-election under the recall mechanism. Farage said the people of Clacton had “stuck two fingers up at the entire political establishment” and called it “an overwhelming endorsement of me.” Labour Chair Bridget Phillipson said: “This is no victory for Nigel Farage. The mountain of sleaze and scandal he and Reform are now engulfed in has grown and grown while he’s been trying to distract the public by fighting a by-election against a bin.” Count Binface said: “It’s going to be a two-legged match like the Carabao Cup or the Cold War, because we’re going to be back again in a few weeks aren’t we? We’ll see what happens then.”
