Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has won the Clacton byelection, beating more than 30 other candidates, including Count Binface. Photo / Henry Nicholls, AFP
British hard-right leader Nigel Farage has won a snap byelection he triggered in Clacton, comfortably beating satirical opponent Count Binface as was expected, according to results announced on Friday.
Farage, who did not attend the result announcement, received 22,239 votes, electoral officials said, while runner-up Count Binface exceeded expectations with
9455 votes.
Farage, leader of Reform UK, had declared victory in front of a crowd of supporters earlier on Friday while the vote count was ongoing.
He was largely expected to win in the constituency, where he was already an MP and where none of the country’s main parties were running.
Farage and Binface beat a long list of joke candidates, independents and members of fringe political parties.
Candidates on stage at the Clacton Leisure Centre, where the count was held, were seen cheering for each other as the results were announced, with many receiving fewer than 100 votes.
Voter turnout in the election was 44%, lower than the 59% turnout recorded at the 2024 general election, but not unusual for a byelection.
The result was called just after 6am local time, with officials warning earlier the vote count would take longer than usual because of the long ballot papers.
