Reform UK leader Nigel Farage gambled his seat on the voters of Clacton siding with him over Britain's political establishment — and won.Farage regained his seat in Parliament Friday after triggering a highly unusual by-election that he said would allow voters to judge him amid allegations surrounding his finances.His closest challenger was not Labour or the Conservatives, but Count Binface, a satirical candidate played by comedian Jon Harvey who campaigns dressed as a trash can.Farage captured 22,239 votes, while Count Binface won 9,455, according to the official result published by Tendring District Council.
Turnout was 44.37%.Britain's major political parties declined to field candidates in the contest, which they dismissed as a self-serving stunt.MEET 'COUNT BINFACE,' THE TRASH CAN-CLAD COMEDIAN CHALLENGING NIGEL FARAGELONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2026/07/08: An activist holds a placard urging Clacton to vote for the satirical candidate Count Binface during the weekly anti-Brexit and pro-EU protest in Parliament Square.
Nigel Farage has resigned as MP for Clacton triggering a by-election.(Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) "I called this by-election because I wanted the people of Clacton and the voters of this constituency to be my judge.
Not the mainstream media in Britain…and the political establishment who paint us out to be criminals and bad people every day," Farage told supporters before the final result was announced."So I asked the voters of Clacton to be my jury."Farage resigned from Parliament last month, forcing the vote as he sought a renewed mandate amid a parliamentary investigation into whether he should have declared a £5 million, or roughly $6.75 million, gift from a billionaire cryptocurrency investor.
Farage has acknowledged receiving the money and not declaring it, but maintains he did nothing wrong.The gamble succeeded in returning Farage to Westminster — but it did not make the investigation disappear.He h...