London (CNN) — Nigel Farage has comfortably won a special election that he triggered, meaning he will remain as a member of parliament after a contest that all the other major British parties boycotted, leaving his main opposition as a comedian dressed as a trash can.
Farage, leader of the populist hard-right Reform UK party, was ultimately re-elected by a substantial margin, winning 22,239 votes – 1,000 more votes than he won in the 2024 general election.
His main opponent in the by-election, Count Binface – a self-described intergalactic space warrior – won a creditable 9,455 votes, indicating the presence of a considerable anti-Farage vote, even in one of the most right-leaning areas in Britain.
Farage, the country’s chief anti-immigrant activist and Brexit architect, claimed an overwelming victory, posting on X: “The result in Clacton speaks for itself.”
He was already the MP for Clacton but resigned from parliament – triggering the by-election – after facing unprecedented scrutiny over his finances. That scrutiny led to an investigation by the parliamentary standards committee, which will now resume after being paused for the election.
Farage did not give a victory speech after declining to attend the declaration, claiming police had warned of a campaign to disrupt it. Essex Police said there were “no incidents or issues,” and that choosing to attend the count was up to “individuals and their security teams.” It is highly unusual for by-election winners not to attend the count; one other notable example is Bobby Sands, a member of the Irish Republican Army who was elected as an MP in 1981 but was in prison and on hunger strike at the time.
“I came first in the Clacton by-election! Of the candidates who bothered to turn up for the results,” Binface posted on X soon after results were announced.
Farage intended for this election to appeal directly to his electorate, framing it as him taking on the establishment: “I’ve decided the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,” he said when triggering the by-election.
But the spectacle promptly became an object of ridicule, derided as a “circus” by prominent British journalists like Jon Sopel for the 33 novelty and fringe candidates challenging Farage, while the claims over Reform’s finances refuse to go away. Holding an election like this has also opened Farage to criticism over its cost, which is expected to be around £250,000 ($338,000). The public is legally bound to pay that, despite Farage’s protestations that Reform would foot the bill.
At the same time, Farage faces both a split in his natural coalition of voters and a more formidable opponent in Britain’s new center-left prime minister, Andy Burnham. Such headwinds are unfamiliar for Reform, which had previously been in the ascendancy, leading national opinion polls and enjoying historic gains in local elections.
And if the ongoing investigation finds he breached parliamentary guidelines, that will trigger a process which could ultimately lead to another by-election. The other major parties would be expected to field candidates in that vote.
Challenge from the right
While Farage is caught in this election spin-cycle, the grip he holds over his voter base is also faltering. Reform is now facing a challenge from its right flank as the newly established party Restore Britain – founded by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe – siphons off a small but significant portion of voters.
Lowe, who has a longstanding feud with Farage, was forced out of the party last year and subsequently started his own, egged on by US billionaire businessman Elon Musk. Now sensing an opening, Lowe has sought to form an alliance with Farage, conditioned on Farage accepting some of Restore’s more extreme policies. Farage has not so far appeared keen to bury the hatchet.
“A pact would be tricky because Restore’s policies are so extreme that adopting them would make Reform less attractive to voters who aren’t really into the whole far-right package,” Tim Bale, a professor at Queen Mary University of London who studies right-wing politics, told CNN.
All this comes against the backdrop of a new national government. Labour leader Burnham is more popular than his predecessor Keir Starmer and has already proven his ability to take on Reform during his successful return to parliament earlier this summer.
In this by-election, Farage has only proven his ability to defeat an intergalactic space warrior with an upturned trash can on his head. Of course, Count Binface is not actually from space; he is a satirical character created by the comedian Jon Harvey, and has stood in several other elections.
“Until August 13th, I want it to be absolutely clear that there is nowhere at all that matters to me more in the cosmos than Clacton,” he told CNN’s Max Foster from his “starship,” which he said he had transformed using a holodeck “to create the precise look of a budget hotel in Clacton.” Farage did not respond to an interview request from CNN.
Binface’s manifesto is packed with national in-jokes, like promising to “cut your taxes, and raise everyone else’s,” nationalize the singer Adele and impose a “windfall tax on cosy crime novels written (or ‘written’) by celebrities.”
Outlandish costumes
Binface is just one in a long line of satirical candidates dating back more than six decades, who have become a unique staple of British elections. Almost anyone can run for parliament in the UK – only a £500 ($675) deposit and 10 supporters of the bid are needed – allowing for people to make their joke, or point, without too much trouble.
The tradition took hold in 1963, when a young musician later known as Screaming Lord Sutch stood in a by-election. He would contest 41 parliamentary seats in all, including against three sitting prime ministers, and founded the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 1982, according to its website.
None of the party’s candidates — think Nick the Incredible Flying Brick and its current leader, Howling Laud Hope — have ever been elected to Westminster. But it inspired others to follow in its footsteps, and its three candidates in Clacton together took 61 votes.
Behind the jokes, some campaigns have carried serious messages, like a man dressed as a fox advocating for animal rights who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Burnham when the former Manchester mayor returned to parliament in June.
Several of the late Sutch’s policies, such as lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 and legalizing commercial radio, were eventually enacted. Still, some have derided the spectacle of novelty candidates.
As for Binface, his vow to be a unity candidate was not enough to win, despite his pre-vote bravado.
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