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Reform to ask for Clacton byelection to be held on 6 August after Farage resignation
Constituents to vote in contest being boycotted by major parties over financial scandal surrounding Reform leader
Reform UK will request that the Clacton byelection be held on 6 August, the party has said, after Nigel Farage’s decision to resign from the seat.
The Reform UK leader, who has represented the Essex constituency since the 2024 general election, said on Tuesday he was standing down and would put himself forward again in what he has sought to portray as a “people versus the establishment” contest.
Farage’s attempts to use the poll to shake off a deepening scandal over financial gifts he has received appears to have backfired as his main rivals announced they would boycott the byelection. At present, only the novelty candidate Count Binface has decided to stand against him.
Count Binface: The candidate wanting to stand in by-election against Farage
After the announcement that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage would quit his Clacton constituency and stand in a by-election, the serial election candidate Count Binface posted online: "Game on, Nige."
Jonathan Harvey, the man who dresses as a bin, spoke to the BBC's Justin Webb and Nick Robinson on the Today programme on Wednesday.
He is one of few people saying he will run against Farage in the contest after Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats all said they would not field candidates.
"Get at least one affordable house, nationalising Adele and bring back Ceefax", Binface told the BBC when asked about his policies.
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Nigel Farage’s donations: four key claims fact checked by an expert in political finance
It was prototypical Nigel Farage. A cryptic announcement that a statement is about to be made, a wholesale hijacking of the news agenda hinting at a “will he won’t he?” state of affairs, followed by a blistering attack on “the establishment” (or, at least, Farage’s conception of the establishment), and a big finish – he is resigning as MP for Clacton, therefore triggering a by-election – in which he will stand once more (though it appears the other main parties will not).
This news does rather bury the bigger story, which most would agree is actually the allegations being made about his finances; and particularly that he accepted gifts worth millions from businessmen.
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