Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wins back Parliament seat he gave up

Nigel Farage has comfortably won the by-election he deliberately triggered, securing his return to Parliament after a contest boycotted by all of Britain’s major political parties and in which his closest challenger was a comedian campaigning in a trash-can costume.

Farage, leader of the populist right-wing Reform UK party, won 22,239 votes, giving him 62.8% of the vote and more than 1,000 additional votes compared with his tally in the 2024 general election.

He did not attend the declaration of the result, saying police had warned him of a campaign to disrupt the event.

Second place went to Count Binface, the fictional character portrayed by British comedian Jonathan David Harvey, who campaigns in public wearing a traditional costume topped with a rubbish bin. He secured 26.7% of the vote.

Turnout was about 44%. Farage will formally take his seat as an MP when Parliament returns from its summer recess on September 1.

The by-election featured 34 candidates, the largest field ever recorded for a single election in the United Kingdom. Twenty of them were independent candidates, setting another record in British electoral history. The ballot paper was almost one metre long.

Farage had been regarded as the overwhelming favourite. He previously represented Clacton in the House of Commons from 2024 until July 7, when he resigned his seat.

The Reform UK leader had deliberately vacated the constituency to force a by-election. His decision came amid a series of controversies surrounding his failure to declare donations from several businesspeople.

Farage then stood as a candidate in the resulting by-election, effectively giving voters the opportunity to decide whether he remained fit to represent them in Parliament.

By Tamilla Hasanova