Nigel Farage has been re-elected in Clacton, comfortably winning the self-inflicted by-election that Britain’s major parties chose to boycott. The Reform leader received 22,239 votes – 1,000 more than his total at the 2024 general election. His main rival, Count Binface, secured a respectable 9,455 votes – a 26.7 per cent share.
Turnout stood at 44.37 per cent, the constituency’s lowest since 2010. However, given the result was always fairly obvious the figure is impressive. It indicates voters did not view the by-election as a farce or gimmick, as much as the major parties tried to push the idea.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
Farage did not attend this morning’s count amid concerns over an alleged ‘credible threat’ against him. The result was met with near silence as it was announced by the returning officer. Reform has also cancelled a ‘major speech’ by the returning Clacton MP that had been planned for 10.30 a.m. Farage said earlier:
The contest against Binface has merely delayed, rather than halted, that investigation
I’ve been advised tonight by Essex police that there is an organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result that will take place in a few hours’ time. I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory … and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies, and I will not, sadly, be attending the count. Which means I’m going to be here all night!
However, Essex Police insisted it had not advised any candidate to stay away from the count over safety concerns. The force said: ‘We have a proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count.’
Earlier, at a party-organised event, Farage described his impending victory as an ‘overwhelming endorsement of me’. He trumpeted:
I have had enough of being judged by mainstream media, being called a criminal. Do you know, if I made one sin, if I haven’t filled in a piece of paper, I’ve broken no law, I’ve broken no tax law, I’ve taken no public money, I don’t even own a motorhome.
Following confirmation of his victory, the Reform leader posted on X: ‘The result in Clacton speaks for itself.’
Farage resigned his seat and triggered the by-election in July amid intense scrutiny of an undeclared £5 million gift from the crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne. The House of Commons ethics watchdog launched an investigation into the money, which was given to Farage in early 2024, before he announced his intention to stand for parliament at the general election.
The contest against Binface has merely delayed, rather than halted, that investigation. If Farage is found to have breached parliamentary standards procedures, another by-election will be forced upon him – and the major parties have vowed to contest it.
Responding to the result this morning, Labour chairwoman Bridget Phillipson claimed ‘this is no victory for Farage… it just shows he likely has so much more to hide’. A Conservative party spokesperson said: ‘All Farage can brag about this morning is beating a bloke with a bin on his head. What he should do is answer the serious outstanding questions about why he hid his £5mn from the public.’
The Reform leader’s success today underlines his strength as both a campaigner and judge of the public mood. Countless reporters travelled to Clacton in the build-up to the by-election and reached much the same conclusion in their dispatches: Farage is beloved in this corner of Essex. His constituents praise his work as a local MP, but also his willingness to champion causes the major parties have long avoided for fear of appearing politically incorrect.
Farage’s victory shows that, in Clacton at least, voters have reached their own judgement on the £5mn gift – irrespective of the views of the media or political establishment. But for that verdict to carry wider significance, it must be echoed nationally. The polls suggest that Farage faces an uphill struggle to achieve such a feat. Unlike when he was first elected in July 2024, Reform now faces challenges from Restore on the right, an uptick in approval ratings for Kemi Badenoch and of course, the Burnham bounce – though that may prove short-lived. On his return to parliament, he will have to persuade the country – not just Clacton – that he has the qualities of a serious statesman, not merely those of a brilliant campaigner.
