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Nigel Farage v Count Binface: Reform leader faces 'trashing' unless he pulls off huge Clacton by-election win

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By deepak · August 11, 2026 · 2 min read

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Roll a round metal dustbin down a hill and it will gain momentum and create a hell of a racket.

If Count Binface is to maximise support from voters in the Clacton by-election on Thursday this is in a way what he needs to achieve.

By ramping up his campaign to maximum volume, it could gain momentum and possibly persuade a significant number of normally Tory, Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat voters to back him.

The four main parties in England, apart from Reform UK, decided not to take part in the by-election, triggered by Nigel Farage’s decision to quit as an MP as he faced financial allegations.

There are a couple of problems, though, for Count Binface, the electoral and space warrior character created by comedian Jon Harvey.

First, it’s difficult to find a hill in the largely flat Essex seaside resort of Clacton-on-Sea and rolling a metal dustbin down one, if it could be found, would clearly be unwise given the damage it could cause.

But more significantly, enthusing people to take part in a by-election, which many think is unnecessary, in the middle of August is likely to be a struggle.

Many voters will be away on holiday, though, some may already have cast their ballot by postal vote.

Others may be far more focused on getting through another day of the long, hot summer rather than heading to the polling station to vote for Mr Farage, a bin, or one of the dozens of other minor candidates, especially when the result is not in doubt.

However, this is not a normal by-election and which is why it is difficult for the Reform leader to emerge triumphant even if he wins by a comfortable margin.

At the 2024 general election, Mr Farage gained 46.2% of the vote, as 21,225 Clacton constituency residents supported him, with Conservative Giles Watling in second place on 27.9%, or 12,820 votes.

Theoretically, it is possible for Count Binface to scoop up a huge chunk of the anti-Farage vote and to win.

Source: Read the original article on www.standard.co.uk