Farage’s by-election in Clacton officially confirmed
A by-election has been officially triggered in Clacton following the resignation of Reform England leader Nigel Farage as an MP.
Reform MP Lee Anderson moved the edict to the House of Commons on Thursday morning, meaning there will likely be a by-election date on Thursday 13 August, although this has not yet been confirmed.
Farage said he would re-contest the seat of Essex in a by-election which he described as “against the people and order”, following increased scrutiny and a parliamentary inquiry into his finances.
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain have all ruled out running for the seat.
Questions about Farage’s finances began with a £5 million gift he received from Thailand-based British cryptocurrency investor and major Reform donor Christopher Harborne before entering Parliament.
Parliament’s standards commissioner is investigating whether he was required to declare this amount after becoming an MP in his published list of financial interests.
The Sunday Times reported that Farage also received support from George Cottrell ahead of the 2024 election., externalPolitical ally who was sentenced to eight months in prison in the US after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges in 2017.
The Reform leader, who has denied any wrongdoing, accused the parties of being “scared” of confronting him and said a lack of cooperation made this a “fake” contest.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves not to allow Farage to resign as an MP until the parliamentary inquiry into him is concluded.
“The people of Clacton deserve the facts first,” Sir Ed wrote on X on Wednesday.
Under parliamentary rules, an MP who wants to resign their seat must write to the Chancellor, who can formally refuse but normally accepts the request by convention.
Reeves told X on Wednesday that the by-election was “a farce and a desperate distraction”, adding that “the people of Clacton deserve better”.
“But if he wants to spend the summer arguing with a dustbin, I won’t stop him,” he said, referring to serial election candidate Count Binface, who has announced his intention to oppose Farage.
Actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox, who lives near Peldon, announced on Tuesday evening that he would be standing, as would Forward Party leader Adham Alkhatip.
