Polling stations will be open to voters on Thursday for the high-profile snap by-election in Clacton.

Voters will be able to choose from a record number of candidates, but the Labour Party, the Tories, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Restore Britain have all said they will not be standing.

Instead voters will have the choice of Reform UK, Count Binface and an array of other independent candidates.

Leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, initiated the by-election, which will be held on 13 August, in protest against parliamentary scrutiny of his financial affairs and backers.

Polling stations will open at 7am and close at 10pm. The result is expected to be announced in the early hours of Friday.

But because there are a total of 34 candidates - a record number for any parliamentary contest - counting could go on for longer than anticipated and push the announcement to 5am.

Often a poll is taken immediately after voters exit the polling station during general elections, but there will be no exit poll for the Clacton by-election.

However, a survey by Survation for Mandate Research of voters in Clacton taken ahead of the by-election suggests Mr Farage would win 73 per cent of the vote, while his main rival Count Binface could sweep up an estimated 20 per cent of the vote.

In an Ipsos poll asking the general public who they would vote for in a hypothetical head-to-head, a third (33 per cent) of British adults said they would prefer Count Binface to win the race, while only 21 per cent back the Reform UK leader.