Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by-election with victory over Count Binface
Nigel Farage has been successfully reelected as MP at the Clacton by-election with a victory over Count Binface.
Farage secured 22,239 votes while Count Binface got 9,455 votes - a career-best for the self-styled intergalactic space warrior.
The by-election was triggered by Farage after he announced he was resigning as an MP amid an investigation into him receiving a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne, which he received before taking his seat in the Commons.
Under Commons rules, new MPs are required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift ‘could not be reasonably thought by others’ to relate to their political activities.
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Farage insisted he did nothing wrong and says he quit as an MP to allow the people of Clacton to judge his actions and now it seems they have.
Even before the results were announced this morning, Farage, who didn't attend the count, was confident of the win.
Speaking to GB News, he was asked whether he had won the by-election, and replied: “Yeah, very convincingly, I’ve managed to beat the establishment candidate.”
He added: “Look, this is an overwhelming endorsement of me. I have had enough of being judged by mainstream media, being called a criminal.
“Do you know, if I made one sin, if I haven’t filled in a piece of paper, I’ve broken no law, I’ve broken no tax law, I’ve taken no public money, I don’t even own a motorhome.
“Maybe I haven’t filled in a piece of paper. I’m confident that I’m right, we’ll see where we go. I put this to the people of Clacton, said ‘you decide my future’, and tonight they will.”
He also said he was ‘right’ to call the by-election, despite criticism from other political parties.
Soon after the by-election was announced, the main Westminster parties, including Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the Greens, all confirmed they wouldn’t be taking part, with some branding it a publicity stunt from Farage.
However, a record 34 candidates did stand, including actor Laurence Fox, three from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and of course, Count Binface, a character created by Jonathan David Harvey.
In the run-up to the by-election, Count Binface confirmed he’d be standing by his past manifest, which included policy highlights such as pledging to build ‘at least one affordable house’; making arcade grabber games fairer, so they’re easier to win; a referendum on whether Pluto should regain its planet status; and ‘the hand dryer in the gents’ toilet at the Crown & Treaty pub, Uxbridge, to be moved to a more sensible position’.
Speaking to Sky News, Count Binface referred to the possibility of a second by-election in the seat if Farage is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.
He said: “You just said at the beginning of this interview that Nigel Farage is claiming victory, but in that case it’s going to be a two-legged match like the Carabao Cup or the Cold War, because we’re going to be back again in a few weeks aren’t we? We’ll see what happens then.”
He added: “Even if I got to 12%, so one-in-eight people in Clacton would rather vote for a space warrior shaped like a bin than Nigel Farage, that would be interesting wouldn’t it?
“If it goes higher and higher and higher, it says more about what the actual population thinks about Nigel Farage than maybe this election.”
Farage had largely been expected to win the by-election, having won Clacton with 46.2% of the vote and a majority of 8,405 at the general election in 2024.
Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said: “Nigel Farage spent 38 days fighting a bin in his most desperate attempt yet to deflect attention from the sleaze and scandals engulfing him and his party.
“Farage may succeed in his run-off against a bin, but he can’t run from the truth forever. The list of unanswered questions about the £5 million gift he hid from the public, his support from a convicted fraudster and the mountain of other scandals he and Reform are facing isn’t going away. In fact, it’s getting longer by the day.
“It’s time to stop the excuses and desperate distractions and finally come clean with the public. If Farage has nothing to hide, he surely would have done so by now.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Nigel Farage called this fake by-election in a desperate attempt to draw a line under the questions surrounding his fishy £5 million donation. Whatever the outcome on Friday, this stunt has not done that.”
The contest is estimated to have cost taxpayers about £250,000.
Who is Jon Harvey, the man behind the Count Binface persona?
Born in London, Harvey attended the University of Oxford before working as a scriptwriter for shows such as The Thick of It, Have I Got News for You, and Time Trumpet.
He's also written a book, 2023's A Fan for All Seasons, and has performed stand-up. So not just any old bloke with a dustbin on his head.
Harvey is also married to actor and voiceover artist Sarah Daykin, with the couple sharing two children, although I'd imagine he doesn't rock up to Parents' Evening in his Count Binface garb.
Claire Reid