Farage wins Clacton by-election after resignation

Nigel Farage has won back his seat in Parliament, defeating joke candidate Count Binface in a Clacton by-election triggered by Farage’s resignation during a row over his financial support.

The Reform UK leader received 22,239 votes, well ahead of Binface, who took 9,455. The contest in the Essex seaside constituency was boycotted by Britain’s other major parties, leaving Farage facing a field of joke candidates, independents and representatives of fringe parties.

Farage’s vote total was higher than the 21,225 votes he received in Clacton at the 2024 general election, when the major parties did stand against him and turnout was much higher. The BBC reported turnout at the general election was 58%, while Al Jazeera reported it was 59%. Turnout in Thursday’s by-election was 44%.

Farage did not attend the official declaration at Clacton Leisure Centre early Friday and cancelled a planned victory speech, Al Jazeera reported. Reform UK said police had advised him not to attend, but the BBC reported it understands that was not the case.

Earlier, as votes were being counted, Farage called the result a “convincing, overwhelming win”.

“I called this by-election because I wanted the people of Clacton, the voters of this constituency to be my judge, not the mainstream media in Britain,” he said, adding that voters had “stuck two fingers up to the entire political establishment”.

The by-election followed pressure on Farage after the Sunday Times reported he had not declared benefits, including staff and security, supplied with help from his long-term ally George Cottrell. He has also faced questions about a £5m gift from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne in early 2024, which he did not register. Farage said at the time: “I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all.”

A parliamentary investigation into Farage, who resigned the seat amid the dispute over his financial support, will now continue.

In Clacton, voters and visitors offered sharply different views of the result. Zak Apsey called it a “good result for Nigel” but said “it shouldn’t really have needed to happen”. He said the investigation was “not a big deal” and added: “I wasn’t disappointed he wasn’t at the count. He was at his event, which is fine. He was still in the constituency, so what’s the big deal?”

Jenny Hopkins, who travelled from Gloucestershire, said she was “delighted, absolutely thrilled”. She said: “The fuss they’ve made about this so-called donation, gift or whatever it is – I think it is ridiculous. They just want rid of Nigel Farage. This has proved the people of Clacton want Nigel Farage.”

Others disagreed. Linda Robinson said the by-election was unnecessary and criticised Farage’s presence locally. “He’s never here, is he? He’s never in Clacton,” she said.

Count Binface, who wears a rubbish can on his head and describes himself as an “intergalactic space warrior”, achieved his best electoral result since he began running in elections in 2019. His campaign promises included capping croissant prices and moving the hand dryer in a local pub restroom.

“There’s more than one way to win,” Binface told Al Jazeera. “You guys are fixated on winning numerically, but … where’s Theresa May, where’s Rishi Sunak, where’s Boris Johnson?”

Clacton resident Max Barrett, who voted for Binface, said a Binface victory “would be good for the area” because “there’d be a lot more tourism”. But he said the campaign had one clear benefit: “The whole community has come out. We’re all talking to each other, which is very nice, no matter the difference in opinion.”