Nigel Farage Regains Clacton Seat but Skips Results Announcement
Second-place finisher Count Binface gave a victory speech of sorts there.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage regained his parliamentary seat Friday in a special election he triggered to boost his standing amid a financial-impropriety investigation — but skipped the declaration of results at which he was scheduled to give a victory speech.
Mr. Farage, a driving force behind Britain’s departure from the European Union, won 63 percent of the vote in Clacton, the southern English seaside resort he’s represented since July 2024, when he won 46 percent of ballots. Forty-four percent of voters turned out, a respectable showing in midsummer.
The right-wing firebrand said Essex Police warned him about an “organized campaign” to disrupt the declaration. “I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory,” he told supporters at a party before votes were finalized, “and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies.”
Reform UK later said police advised him not to attend because of a “credible threat.” Police said they had not advised any candidate to stay away.
Mr. Farage resigned his seat July 8 facing a parliamentary investigation into whether he should have declared a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Responding to critics, Mr. Farage said the money was a donation to pay for his security. He has faced attacks and threats during his political career.
The inquiry was suspended because the parliamentary watchdog generally investigates sitting members. But after Mr. Farage’s win, the parliament’s standards commissioner reopened the case.
Count Binface, charitably described in British media as a “novelty candidate,” received 27 percent of the vote. The Labour and Conservative parties refused to field candidates, describing the by-election as an attempt to deflect attention from the financial inquiry. Their absence helped make Count Binface the leading opponent to Mr. Farage, who called him the “candidate of the establishment.”
Writer Jonathan David Harvey is the man behind the mask — actually a dustbin-shaped helmet — of the self-described “intergalactic space warrior.”
While the victor was absent from the results announcement, he did comment on the outcome. “The result in Clacton speaks for itself,” Mr. Farage wrote on X.
Count Binface declared himself the “victor” of the candidates who showed up for the traditional announcement, noting his 9,455 votes are “10,000 percent more” than the 95 votes he received in June when he competed against Andy Burnham, now the prime minister, for a seat in Greater Manchester.
“Over one in four people in this constituency would rather have Count Binface as their MP than the leader of Reform UK. And I’m just getting started,” the second-place candidate said in a “victory speech” posted to social media.
The major parties could return to Clacton if the investigation leads to Mr. Farage’s suspension, a successful recall petition, and another special election.
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