Nigel Farage has been elected as the MP for Clacton, finally succeeding in getting a seat in parliament at his eighth attempt. The Reform UK leader defeated the Conservative candidate, Giles Watling, who had represented the coastal constituency in Essex since 2017. Farage won 21,225 votes to Watling's 12,820, a majority of 8,405.
The victory came on a night when the hardline rightwing party surged in support elsewhere, winning four seats by 4am on Friday. Richard Tice, Reform's chair, won the Lincolnshire constituency of Boston and Skegness, calling it “the proudest day of my life”. The former Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson successfully defended his seat in Ashfield, and former Southampton football club chairman Rupert Lowe won a seat in Great Yarmouth.
In a speech after his victory, Farage served notice that his party would be turning its guns on Labour. “We are coming for Labour … be in no doubt about that,” he said. Revelling in the Conservatives' heavy defeat, Farage railed against the party of which he had once been a member, telling reporters: “They are literally a broad church that has no shared religion.” He ruled out working in parliament with the Conservative party but opened the door to Tory MPs coming over to Reform.
Asked if he wanted to become prime minister, Farage replied: “Whatever happens, happens, and probably by 2029 this movement will have found someone younger and better looking than me.” He told reporters he would “speak up” and provide a challenge in government. As to what Tory MPs should do, he said those who were part of the “one nation” tradition should stay, while others should look to Reform and “join the team”.
Clacton had been regarded as Reform UK's best hope of taking a seat. It was the only constituency to return a Ukip MP in a general election when it was won in 2015 by Douglas Carswell. Reform had been projected to win as many as 13 seats, according to the 10pm exit poll, but after Farage's victory, expectations were tempered and Reform believed it would win about four seats.
