Clacton by-election LIVE: Nigel Farage wins poll but Count Binface gets nearly 10,000 votes
Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by-election - but refused to attend the count, saying he does not want to be “demeaned and humiliated by nobodies”.
The Reform UK leader secured 22,239 votes to retain the Essex seat. His closest rival was Count Binface, who won 9,455 votes.
Mr Farage pre-empted the official announcement by telling supporters he had secured more than the 21,225 votes he won when he took the constituency at the 2024 general election.
However, speaking at a “Farage Fest” event in Essex, he said he would dodge the traditional declaration after being given notice of an “organised campaign” to “disrupt and degrade the result”.
He said: “I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for, and you’ve tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies, and I will not sadly be attending the count.”
Mr Farage quit as an MP to fight a “people versus the establishment” by-election as he faced financial allegations surrounding a £5million donation and a parliamentary probe.
All of the main political parties boycotted the poll, leaving Mr Farage’s most high-profile challenger as Count Binface - a self-described “intergalactic space warrior” dressed as a giant rubbish can.
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Farage reveals why he didn't attend Clacton by-election count
Nigel Farage said safety fears prompted the decision not to show up to the Clacton by-election.
But police did not tell the Reform UK leader to stay away from the leisure centre where ballots were counted.
Farage’s team judged there was 'sufficient anxiety, concern and threats' at count
Nigel Farage is not at the Clacton count because his team judged there was “sufficient anxiety, concern and threats”, according to Reform’s deputy leader.
The party said overnight that police had told Mr Farage not to attend the count due to a “credible threat” against him, which it is understood is not the case.
Asked about the claim on GB News, Richard Tice said: “Well, as you can imagine, given everything that’s gone on in recent days and weeks, security is very paramount to all of us at Reform.
“Ultimately, it was judged by Nigel’s team that there was there was sufficient anxiety, and concern, and threats, that meant that whilst of course he would love to have been at the count, ultimately his security counts for more than anything else, and I don’t think anybody, frankly, should in any way question his… team’s judgment on that.”
Asked whether he could say anything more about information the party claims to have received that meant Mr Farage did not want to be on stage, he said: “No, I can’t. But I think we should just trust those tasked with keeping Nigel safe and alive, I hesitate to say, but that’s what the task is.
“And if a credible threat is perceived or a deep anxiety, whatever you want to term it, clearly they’re going to err on the side of caution, and that’s just the reality.
“So, yes, of course, it’s a shame he would have loved to have been there, but security is paramount, and everybody knows we’ve had a very, very difficult few weeks and last couple of months.”
Clacton 'no victory for Farage', says Labour
Labour says the Clacton by-election is “no victory for Nigel Farage” and “shows he likely has so much to hide”.
Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson MP says: “The mountain of sleaze and scandal he and Reform are now engulfed in has grown and grown while he’s been trying to distract the public by fighting a by-election against a bin.
“This morning, Nigel Farage shouldn’t be celebrating – he should wake up and smell the coffee. He must come clean with the public and put all the facts on the table over his secret £5 million gift, his relationship with a convicted fraudster, and the other scandals his Party is drowning in.
“Farage’s distraction by-election doesn’t clear his name – it just shows he likely has so much more to hide.”
More than 20 Clacton candidates fail to get over 100 votes
A record 34 candidates contested the Clacton by-election, with over half failing to secure more than 100 votes.
Turnout for the bizarre poll was 44.37%, with a total of 35,401 votes cast.
Nigel Farage was the runaway winner, but Count Binface secured almost 10,000 votes.
The full results are:
- Nigel Farage (Reform) 22,239 (63.34%, +17.16%)
- Count Binface (Binface) 9,455 (26.93%)
- John Stevens (Rejoin) 492 (1.40%)
- Tony Francis (Ind) 432 (1.23%)
- Pamela Walford (Ind) 371 (1.06%)
- Laurence Fox (Reclaim) 347 (0.99%)
- William Clouston (SDP) 256 (0.73%)
- Nick Pelas (Ind) 202 (0.58%)
- James Ransley (Consensus) 192 (0.55%)
- Stephen Ingram (Ind) 159 (0.45%)
- Kai Stephens (BDP) 132 (0.38%)
- Attieh Fard (Ind) 126 (0.36%)
- Derrick Morris (Ind) 100 (0.28%)
- Martyn OBrien (Ind) 65 (0.19%)
- Martin Davies (FA) 60 (0.17%)
- Robin Green (Ind) 59 (0.17%)
- Rees Cowne (Ind) 50 (0.14%)
- Adham Alkhatip (Forward) 49 (0.14%)
- Amy Morris (Ind) 46 (0.13%)
- Andy Erlam (Ind) 44 (0.13%)
- Joseph 77 (Ind) 42 (0.12%)
- Nick The Incredible Flying Brick (Loony) 28 (0.08%)
- Ketankumar Pipaliya (Voice) 21 (0.06%)
- Michael O’Keefe (Ind) 19 (0.05%)
- Howling Laud Hope (Loony) 18 (0.05%)
- Tony Cane (Ind) 17 (0.05%)
- Daniel Pocock (ND) 16 (0.05%)
- Baron Von Thunderclap (Loony) 15 (0.04%)
- Abi Hookway (Ind) 14 (0.04%)
- Marc Wilkinson (Ind) 11 (0.03%)
- Marcus White (Everyone) 10 (0.03%)
- Gerry Smith (Ind) 9 (0.03%)
- Woke Trump Carrzee (Ind) 8 (0.02%)
- Glenn Cummings (Ind) 7 (0.02%)
Nigel Farage secures comprehensive win
Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by-election with 22,239 votes but will not be at the count to make a victory speech.
His closest rival was Count Binface, who secured 9,455 votes.
Results being declared in Clacton
Results are now being declared in the Clacton by-election...
A record 34 candidates ran in Calcton- the highest number to stand in a by-election in modern times.
Those running include 20 independents and a number of joke contenders.
According to the party website, Reclaim exists to challenge “woke orthodoxy” and promote “freedom of speech”, which it sees as being “under grave peril”.
Three Monster Raving Loony Party candidates ran, alongside the Social Democratic Party, and Rejoin EU.
Essex Police has not advised Farage to dodge the count
Essex Police did not advise any Clacton candidate to not attend the by-election count.
The force said in a statement: "We have a proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count."
Farage has confirmed he will not be attending because police told him of "an organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result".
He told an event he would not be "demeaned and humiliated by nobodies" and a spokesperson for the party claimed there was a "credible threat" against him.
Could by-election backfire for Farage?
Nigel Farage took a gamble in resigning from the Commons and seeking to get re-elected as the MP for Clacton.
He was always going to win but the question was by how much, and why he quit in the first place.
The Reform UK leader evokes strong feelings among voters, with very roughly a fifth or a quarter of them backing the party, according to recent polls.
Mr Farage’s challenge was to try to get out as much of the vote in Clacton as he could to show that its voters were still strongly behind him, and to win by a hefty margin.
Whether people think he has achieved this may partly depend on whether they are pro or anti-Farage.
Reform cancel's Farage 'victory lap'
Nigel Farage’s planned “victory lap” after winning the Clacton by-election has been cancelled.
A Reform UK spokesman confirmed the event planned for later this morning would not go ahead.
It comes after Mr Farage announced that he will not be attending the election count because police informed him of "an organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result".
He said he did not want to be "demeaned and humiliated by nobodies" and a Reform UK spokesman said there was a "credible threat" against him.
But Ian Davidson, who is in charge of the by-election, insisted the count was "safe and secure”.
He added: “I do not believe there is any threat serious enough to be able to call off the count."