Nigel Farage's campaign to be re-elected in Clacton took an awkward turn when he walked into a birthday party. The Reform UK leader was speaking to voters in the seaside town when he gatecrashed the celebrations. He is hoping Clacton will re-elect him after he stood down in the same seat to force a by-election.
Campaign trail encounter
Farage was persuading one local to support him at the August 13 by-election when he was told there was a birthday party taking place. He decided to take a look for himself and walked straight up to the bash, to the shock of those celebrating. The birthday man shook his hand and said he was a 'big supporter' and added: 'It's a pleasure to meet you… Good luck to you.' A family member told Farage 'see you later' as he turned around and walked out. The Reform UK leader called it 'great fun'.
Political pressure
The encounter was a light-hearted interlude in a tricky campaign for Farage. He announced he would resign as MP for Clacton earlier this month to force the by-election, in which he will stand to 'stick two fingers up to the entire establishment'. However, none of the major parties are fielding a candidate, meaning his most dangerous opponent is Count Binface, as well as other joke candidates from the Monster Raving Loony Party.
Financial scrutiny
Farage is fighting to restore his political authority after a string of reports about his finances. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is currently looking into allegations he did not properly declare a 'gift' of £5 million from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne in January 2024. The Metropolitan police are also investigating £500,000 in donations made to Reform UK by the mother of a convicted fraudster. Two separate donations of £250,000 were sent by Fiona Cottrell in May 2024. Her son George Cottrell, 32, is a convicted fraudster and secretly bankrolled Nigel Farage.
Donations probe
The Guardian reported that George transferred more than $2m to his mother before her donations to the party. The newspaper claims that Fiona received one deposit of $1.4m and two tranches of more than $300,000 each. Among the donations to Reform is £1m given by Fiona to Britain Means Business, a company controlled by the party's deputy leader Richard Tice, with half that money then transferred to Reform days later. Reform UK, Farage and George Cottrell have consistently denied any wrongdoing over their finances.
The Met issued this statement on its investigation: 'An investigation was launched in February 2025 after a referral was made to the Metropolitan police by the Electoral Commission relating to donations made to a political party ahead of the 2024 UK general election. Detectives from the Met's special inquiry team are investigating alleged offences under section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Early investigative advice has been sought from the Crown Prosecution Service and two people have so far been interviewed under caution. No arrests have been made.'
