Nigel Farage has triggered a byelection in Clacton, framing it as a 'people versus the establishment' contest, but major parties have declined to field candidates, leaving only novelty candidate Count Binface as a confirmed challenger. The Reform UK leader faces two parliamentary probes into financial support, including a £5m gift from crypto billionaire and Reform donor Christopher Harborne.
Rival parties step aside
Rupert Lowe, Farage's hard-right rival and leader of Restore Britain, was the first to announce he would not run a candidate. Restore Britain had previously demonstrated it could drain Reform votes in the Makerfield byelection. Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and Greens followed suit. A Labour spokesperson accused Farage of 'desperately trying to change the subject' from what they called the 'sleaze scandal engulfing him.'
In Clacton, residents expressed weariness with the impending election and Westminster politics. Paul Thompson, a former Labour voter, said he would no longer vote for any party because 'everyone's just out for their own.' He cited daily struggles like accessing medication, adding, 'I'm afraid this country needs a bloody good kick up the arse.' Thompson said it was important someone stand against Farage, whom he dislikes for his hard-right politics.
Polarised town
Zöe Waters described a polarised town with unwavering Farage supporters and those who see him as an ineffective MP. 'I have heard from people that he is a joke, he shouldn't be reelected. Then you get people who love him,' she said. 'A lot of my friends are very anti him – they have said he is racist. I don't really know [about that], I don't have an opinion. But I have had family who have put in letters and emails for him to help, and he doesn't even reply … they have the hump about that.'
Labour is wary of engaging fully in Clacton when Andy Burnham, expected to become party leader and prime minister by month's end, aims to use the summer recess to set out his stall. A Burnham ally said, 'We need to get out to the country, all guns blazing, real positivity and lots of big announcements focused on hopes. I would be very worried if we got distracted by a Clacton sideshow. A new prime minister needs to be the main story the country is hearing about, not Nigel Farage. We should not give him what he wants.'
Only Count Binface steps up
After the Greens declined to run a candidate late Tuesday, the only confirmed challenger is veteran novelty candidate Count Binface. Among Farage's 2024 opponents, opinions differed. Giles Watling, 73, the actor and former Tory incumbent unseated by Farage, said he had told the Conservative chair he was prepared to take on Farage again. 'I feel young and I also feel that I would be the person to beat this populist surge,' he said.
Labour's Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, another 2024 opponent, said he would have been willing to stand but that the 'good people of Clacton should be remembered in all this.' Reform chair Lee Anderson insisted Farage would win by more than 50% of the vote, sending 'shockwaves through the establishment.'
Risks for Farage
Former Clacton MP Douglas Carswell, who defected from Tory to Ukip, suggested Farage's gambit carries risks. 'He says this will be the people versus the establishment,' Carswell told Times Radio. 'But it could actually just be Lord Binface and [the] Monster Raving Loony party against Nigel, with lots of people scratching their heads thinking – what was all that about?'
