Nigel Farage left facing Count Binface after major parties boycott Clacton by-election

It comes after yesterday the Reform leader sensationally quit as MP and vowed to fight a "people versus establishment" by-election in the Essex seat amid a row over his finances and a parliamentary investigation.

Farage denies any wrongdoing in the row over undeclared gifts and donations he received before he was elected.

Farage also said Reform UK will foot the bill for the by-election but last night, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) told that the move would be illegal.

Now, Labour, the Lib Dems, the Conservatives, the Greens and Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain have agreed not to put up candidates labelling the by-election as a "circus" - meaning his only confirmed challenger so far is the satirical candidate Count Binface.

Comedian Jon Harvey, who regularly runs in by-elections, including the Makerfield by-election with Andy Burnham under the pseudonym, has said he will run.

Desperate stunt

Labour accused Farage of "desperately trying to change the subject".

"It’s pathetic, and the Labour Party is not going to indulge it," a spokesperson said.

"Farage should let the parliamentary investigation into his finances run its course and face the consequences."

The Prime Minister said: "This is a desperate stunt from Nigel Farage. Politics should be about improving the lives of millions of people, not about personal gain."

The Conservatives will not be standing a candidate in this fake by-election. pic.twitter.com/LgVGuFF1r4

— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) July 7, 2026

Hissy fit

Similarly, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Nigel Farage of "running away from scrutiny".

Ms Badenoch released a statement on Tuesday saying: "We will be standing a candidate in the real by-election, which will follow the standards investigation into Nigel Farage’s fishy finances.

"We will not be standing a candidate in the fake by-election that Farage is causing to distract people from what is happening.

"We need to let that investigation run its course, and I think the reason why Nigel Farage has resigned is because he’s terrified that he’s going to be found to have done something wrong.

"The best thing for him to have done would have been to call a press conference and explain what he did with the money, apologise if needs be, and that would have been the end of it. Instead, he has been running away from scrutiny.

"No one is bigger than parliament. We all have to register our interests. We, the Conservative Party, are very focused on uniting the country around sensible policies.

"We’re going to focus on getting Britain working again and showing some common sense, not throwing random by-elections out because we’re having a hissy fit."

Nigel Farage is a Temu Trump who’s spent his whole life dodging responsibility for his actions.

He has done nothing for his constituents and instead focused on lining his own pockets.

This new stunt is his latest attempt to escape consequences for his biggest grift. We won’t… pic.twitter.com/CxFG7wt6MJ

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) July 7, 2026

Temu Trump

The Liberal Democrats described Farage as a ’Temu Trump’ who has "spent his whole life dodging responsibility for his actions".

"He has done nothing for his constituents and instead focused on lining his own pockets."

They urged the government to block Farage’s resignation until the standards investigation had concluded and argued that his constituents needed "all the facts before they cast their votes".

Hannah Spencer MP also confirmed local members had decided not to field a candidate.

On my way, Clacton. pic.twitter.com/R4pgCJu0T0

— Count Binface (@CountBinface) July 7, 2026

The Reform leader faces a parliamentary standards investigation over a £5 million gift from Reform donor Christopher Harborne before becoming an MP, and a potential further probe after reports of undeclared funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected, provided by long-term ally George Cottrell.

In his video address, Mr Farage also accused the media of harassment and vowed to fight a "people versus the establishment" by-election as he announced he is standing down as an MP.

He also released footage on X appearing to show a Sky journalist on his driveway.

The broadcaster said in a statement: "Nigel Farage has legitimate questions to answer about the gift he accepted from Mr Cottrell.

“Given the clear public interest in this matter, Sky News has been seeking a response from Mr Farage and has made reasonable efforts to contact him.

"We acknowledge that Sky News was part of a broadcast pool operation outside a property linked to Mr Farage yesterday.

"We approached the property off-camera on a single occasion, identified ourselves, and the occupant chose not to engage."

An MHCLG spokesperson told: "To maintain the independence and impartiality of the electoral process, the law is clear that the cost of running elections must be met from public funds, and not by candidates or political parties.

"Individuals or groups can, of course, make voluntary donations to the Consolidated Fund in the normal way, but these are not ring-fenced to pay for specific costs or events."