Nigel Farage faces Count Binface in Clacton by-election

Nigel Farage is seeking to regain his Clacton-on-Sea parliamentary seat in a Thursday by-election after resigning last month amid a probe into his finances, with parody candidate Count Binface emerging as his main challenger.

Farage, leader of Reform UK, won the Essex seat in 2024 with 21,225 votes on his eighth attempt to enter parliament. He resigned as MP on July 8 and said he would stand again in the resulting by-election.

Major political parties have not fielded candidates, and polls suggest Farage is expected to win by a large margin. A Survation poll, however, suggested Count Binface could take about a fifth of the vote.

Local authorities confirmed that 34 candidates are running, the highest number for any UK parliamentary election. Most are independents, and the ballot paper will be nearly a metre long. There are 78,245 eligible voters.

Farage had faced scrutiny over the non-disclosure of gifts, including a £5 million donation from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne and alleged undeclared financial support from convicted fraudster George Cottrell. Farage said the Harborne donation was a gift for his security made before he became an MP. London police are also investigating donations made to Reform by Fiona Cottrell, George Cottrell’s mother.

Count Binface, the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey, is part of Britain’s tradition of satirical election candidates. The Official Monster Raving Loony Party also has three candidates running in Clacton.

Farage’s resignation paused the parliamentary investigation into his finances. Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, said Farage would probably return to parliament but that the investigation would start again after parliament’s summer recess. If Farage were found guilty of serious misconduct and faced sanctions, another by-election could follow.