Farage resigns as MP and seeks re-election amid funding scrutiny

Nigel Farage said Tuesday he will resign from Parliament and run again for his seat in Clacton, forcing a by-election as the Reform UK leader faces mounting scrutiny over donations and benefits from political backers.

Farage, a prominent British right-wing politician and ally of President Donald Trump, said voters in the southeast England constituency should decide whether he remains their member of Parliament. He won the seat in 2024 after years as one of the leading figures behind Britain’s exit from the European Union.

“I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,” Farage said at a news conference. “I will fight to win.”

He framed the contest as a confrontation with political institutions and the media. “This will be a people vs the establishment by-election,” he said, calling it “a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment, to frankly tell them where to go.”

Farage said he was stepping down and standing again because of what he described as a “pile on” and “demonization” following recent scrutiny of his finances. He said he had “plenty of offers” for work in the United States but wanted to seek a fresh mandate in Clacton, a deprived area of Essex where he said he had “really enjoyed” serving as MP.

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” he said. “I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money.” He added: “Making money is not a crime.”

The parliamentary standards commissioner is already investigating Farage over his acceptance of 5 million pounds, or about $6.8 million, from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Al Jazeera reported that Farage initially said the gift would fund his private security. NBC News described the donation as more than $6 million received before Farage entered Parliament.

Farage said Tuesday that threats to his family’s “privacy and safety” helped drive his decision. “I am going to need security for the rest of my life, and I cannot even tell you how grateful I am to Christopher Harborne because now I will never, ever need to worry about whether I’ve got the resource,” he said.

He is also under scrutiny over support linked to George Cottrell, an aristocratic supporter and aide described in British tabloids as “Posh George.” The Sunday Times reported, according to Al Jazeera, that Cottrell recruited and paid three staff members to work on Farage’s social media before the 2024 general election and continued to allow Farage to use a five-storey Georgian townhouse he rented near Buckingham Palace.

Cottrell was jailed in the United States in 2017 for his role in a money-laundering conspiracy, Al Jazeera reported. NBC News, citing the Associated Press, reported that Cottrell was arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare airport in 2016 while traveling with Farage over allegations that he offered to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers.

Farage has denied wrongdoing and said the benefits were for personal use. He accused parliamentary authorities of using “standards” as “a political tool.”

The by-election comes as Reform UK has gained support in national opinion polls and challenged the dominance of Labour and the Conservatives. Farage, known for his anti-immigration politics, previously led the UK Independence Party, resigned after the Brexit referendum, then returned as leader of the Brexit Party, later rebranded as Reform UK.

It is unclear when the Clacton by-election will take place.