Nigel Farage will confront a field of 33 rival candidates in the Clacton by-election on 13 August, the largest number ever to stand in a modern parliamentary contest, after the main Westminster parties refused to field candidates.
The Reform UK leader resigned as MP on 7 July following increased scrutiny over his finances and a parliamentary investigation, but is standing again. His security had already been reduced from eight bodyguards to just one a year after he won the seat in July 2024, amid a campaign that saw him doused with a milkshake and subjected to numerous threats.
“Nigel Farage faces record 34 candidates in Clacton by-election after main parties boycott”
The list of candidates, published by Tendring District Council, includes 20 independents and a string of joke candidates. Three are from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, among them party leader Howling Laud Hope and figures with names such as Nick The Incredible Flying Brick and Baron Von Thunderclap.
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain all declined to take part in the contest for the Essex seat, dismissing it as a “stunt” by Farage. Yvette Cooper called the move a “political tantrum”, while others labelled it “fake” and a “gimmick” to distract from serious allegations.
Farage’s highest-profile opponents are the satirical candidate Count Binface and the actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox. Count Binface, the alter ego of comedian Jonathan David Harvey, wrote on X: “Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house. Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it. Leave him to me.”
Laurence Fox, leader of the Reclaim Party, criticised the mainstream parties for boycotting. He said: “We’re coming because we respect the voters of Clacton and also to elevate the Fight on the Right. If I was a canvasser for any of the established political parties I would be pretty miffed that my party leaders had decided not to represent my voice just because they hate Nigel so much. What a state British politics is in when political parties don’t stand in elections.”
The previous record for candidates in a by-election was 26, set at the Haltemprice and Howden contest in July 2008 when Tory Sir David Davis triggered a contest in his own seat and the main parties similarly stayed away.
Farage had envisioned the Clacton contest as a “people versus the establishment” showdown, but will face a field that also includes candidates from the Social Democratic Party, Freedom Alliance, UK VOICE, and the Consensus Party. Almost 80,000 electors across 51 polling stations will be eligible to vote.
One question lingers: can a man with a bin on his head defeat the leader of Reform UK?
