Nigel Farage wins the Clacton by-election

Nigel Farage has regained his seat in Parliament with 63.3 per cent of the vote. Count Binface, the candidate who challenged him whilst wearing a rubbish bin on his head, failed to beat him. In the end, as the polls had predicted, the by-election held yesterday in Clacton went in favour of the leader of Reform UK. 

“The result in Clacton speaks for itself,” commented Farage on social media. He did not attend the vote count, claiming that the police had advised him against it for security reasons, but the British press has found no confirmation of this. The leader of Reform UK was due to give a speech this morning in Clacton, but the event was cancelled without explanation. 

Farage, leader of the anti-immigration party Reform UK, had suddenly resigned from his seat in July, during an investigation into whether he had failed to declare a £5 million donation received from a cryptocurrency billionaire based abroad. He stated that he would stand for the vacant seat to prove he had the support of the electorate.

However, the victory in Clacton does not guarantee that Farage will manage to retain his seat. It is likely that the inquiry, which was suspended at the time of his resignation, will resume, conducted by a parliamentary oversight body.When he announced his surprise resignation last month, the Reform leader stated that “it will be the people of Clacton who judge my actions” and that he wanted to “fight to continue the political revolution started by Reform”. Now that the election is over, it cannot be ruled out that the issue will resurface in exactly the same way as before. 

Binface, a serial candidate who has challenged past and present prime ministers, has become the sole challenger in a field of 34 candidates after the main parties boycotted the election campaign, calling it a political stunt by Farage. He came second, securing 26.9 per cent of the vote – his best result ever (he has previously stood in four general elections and two London mayoral elections). Today, he will reclaim the £500 that every candidate pays as a deposit to stand, which is refunded if they secure more than 5 per cent of the vote.