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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.
The investigation into donations received by Nigel Farage has been reopened.
When the Reform UK leader stood down as an MP, the probe by the parliamentary commissioner for standards was paused.
But it has now been resumed, according to the Commons website.
Parliament's standards commissioner launched the investigation in May after Mr Farage failed to declare a £5 million gift he received before becoming an MP in the 2024 general election.
The money was a “gift” from Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne.
MPs are allowed to accept gifts from donors, but they are supposed to declare if these might be thought to influence their actions.
Mr Farage insists he hasn't broken any rules, as there is an exemption for gifts that are "purely personal".