Nigel Farage Retains MP Seat, Defeating Rival Count Binface
Al Jazeera Staff
Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by-election with 22,239 votes, defeating Count Binface, who secured 9,455 votes. The result was described by Farage as a “convincing and emphatic victory.”
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, won back his seat in the British Parliament after defeating his main rival Count Binface in a by-election he triggered by resigning last month.
According to official results, Farage received 22,239 votes in the Clacton constituency, while Count Binface—a candidate often appearing with a bin on his head and calling himself an “intergalactic space warrior”—garnered 9,455 votes. This was Binface's best-ever result, having contested six elections since 2019.
The by-election took place amid a boycott by major UK political parties, creating an awkward contest for Farage, who had sought to use the vote to strengthen his position amid allegations of financial misconduct.
Farage did not attend the official result announcement early Friday and canceled his planned victory speech, according to the BBC. However, in earlier remarks while counting was underway, he declared it a “convincing and emphatic victory.”
“I called this by-election because I wanted the people of Clacton, the voters of this constituency, to be my judges, not the mainstream media in Britain,” he said, adding that Clacton voters had “put two fingers up to the entire political establishment.”
For his part, Binface—whose campaign pledges included capping the price of croissants and relocating hand dryers in a local pub's toilets—told Al Jazeera that “there's more than one way to win.” He listed former British prime ministers he had previously faced and questioned: “You focus on winning votes, but … where is Theresa May, where is Rishi Sunak, where is Boris Johnson?”
Turnout in Thursday's poll was 44%, lower than the 59% recorded at the 2024 general election, but not unusual for a by-election. Farage and Binface topped a long list of novelty candidates, independents, and minor party members. At Clacton Leisure Centre, where counting took place, candidates were seen cheering each other as results were announced, with many receiving fewer than 100 votes.
Farage, a fervent Brexit supporter and right-wing populist, is seen by many as a potential candidate for prime minister. He has pledged a tough line on immigration, including using the Royal Navy to intercept and turn back boats carrying asylum seekers.
Farage resigned his seat in July amid an investigation into whether he failed to declare a £5 million ($6.75 million) gift from a foreign cryptocurrency billionaire, which led to the by-election. “I've done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any shape or form,” Farage said of the allegations at the time.
