Count Binface to take on Farage in Clacton by-election as main parties stand down

Nigel Farage’s decision to trigger a by-election in his seat of Clacton took a bizarre twist this morning, when a man who dresses as a bin and claims to come from planet Sigma IX began his interview on the BBC’s Today programme. Count Binface – the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey – is one of vanishingly few candidates willing to stand against the Reform UK leader, after Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party all declined to put up a candidate. The by-election process was triggered on Wednesday, leaving Farage no longer an MP, with a potential date in August. Farage resigned amid a growing inquiry by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards into questions about money and transparency, which he has said suffocated his ability to lead the national debate. Last night, Farage insisted the contest was deadly serious, telling the Daily Mail: “Labour and the Tories are both showing contempt for the electorate – this is an election with real people.” But Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, wrote that the move came from a weak position and risked backfiring, making Farage look like a “laughing stock”. Senior Reform figures said they had priced in the main parties’ refusal to stand and had anticipated some seeking to delay the by-election until after the standards inquiry concluded. The Liberal Democrats had suggested a delay, but the process was triggered regardless. Count Binface, who previously stood as Lord Buckethead against Theresa May in 2017 and Boris Johnson in Uxbridge, and got 24,775 votes in the 2021 London mayoral election, has a manifesto that includes capping croissants at £1 and forcing former prime ministers to do national service. “I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house,” he said. “Nigel Farage says he wants the people versus the establishment. So be it. Leave him to me.” Harvey, a comedian who worked on The Thick of It and Have I Got News for You, has described his alter ego as an “intergalactic space warrior”. Mason noted that while convention suggests a prime minister in waiting would not trigger a race involving a man in a bin, convention “has had a rum time of it in recent years”. The by-election, even if a foregone conclusion, could serve as a useful data collection exercise for Reform in case another contest follows if Farage is later found to have broken parliamentary rules.