A by-election in Clacton has been formally triggered after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage resigned as MP, but the contest is shaping up to be an extraordinary affair with all major parties refusing to field candidates. Reform MP Lee Anderson moved the writ in the Commons on Thursday morning, setting a likely date of 13 August, though this has yet to be confirmed.
Farage said he would re-fight the Essex seat in what he billed as a “people versus the establishment” by-election, following increased scrutiny over his finances and a parliamentary investigation. Questions surrounding Farage’s finances started over a £5m gift he received before entering Parliament from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based British cryptocurrency investor and major Reform donor. Parliament’s standards commissioner is investigating whether he should have declared that sum upon becoming an MP. The Sunday Times has also reported Farage received support ahead of the 2024 election from George Cottrell, a political ally jailed for eight months in the US in 2017 after pleading guilty to wire fraud. Farage, who denies any wrongdoing, accused the parties of being “scared” to face him.
“Nigel Farage’s Clacton by-election set for 13 August as all major parties refuse to contest the seat.”
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain have all ruled out contesting the seat. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to refuse to let Farage resign until the investigation concluded. “The people of Clacton deserve the facts first,” he wrote on X. Reeves posted that the by-election was a “farce and a desperate distraction”, adding: “But if he wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won’t stop him” – a reference to serial candidate Count Binface, who has also announced he will stand. Green MP Hannah Spencer said: “We get to spend the summer watching Clacton, a farce of a by-election where one of the candidates is a joke character filled with rubbish and the other is Count Binface.” Actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox, leader of the Reclaim Party, and Adham Alkhatip, who leads the Forward Party, are also standing.
Assuming Farage wins, the investigation by parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg will resume the day he returns to Westminster. If he is found to have behaved improperly and suspended for 10 days or more, his constituents could launch a recall petition and trigger a second by-election. The main parties have indicated they would contest that. At the 2024 general election, 58% of Clacton voters turned out – just 1.7% lower than the national figure. Farage has not been a frequent visitor to his constituency but has acquired a reputation for frequently visiting the United States.