Farage’s resign and restand by-election plan branded ‘desperate political stunt’

Nigel Farage dramatically resigned as an MP to trigger a by-election in his Clacton constituency in protest against growing scrutiny over his personal finances, with the move condemned as a “desperate political stunt”.

The Reform UK leader, who is facing at least one investigation into unregistered cash donations and support to him, insisted he had done nothing wrong and accused Westminster opponents of using the sleazy investigations as a “political tool” against him.

He described his move to resign and run again on behalf of the party as “promoting two things against the establishment”; but this was quickly condemned as a “waste of taxpayers’ money”.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives and Restore Britain have already ruled out running candidates against Mr Farage, with Kemi Badenoch saying: “We are not in a fake by-election.”

Mr Farage was accused of “cracking under pressure” after coming under intense scrutiny over a £5 million donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and questions being raised about his relationship with George Cottrell, a convicted criminal known as “Posh George”, who backed him.

In a defiant speech posted on social media without any questions from the press, Mr Farage claimed he was the victim of a media and establishment conspiracy.

He said: “I have decided that the people of Clacton should be the judge of my actions. This will be a by-election between the people and the establishment.”

“This is a chance to put my two fingers out there to tell the entire institution clearly where they’re going to go, and that’s why I’m going to put my name forward to run in this by-election.”

But hinting it was the last throw of the dice and a last-ditch attempt to keep alive his dying dream of one day becoming prime minister, Mr Farage admitted he was debating quitting politics altogether.

The by-election, called a “political spectacle” by Sir Keir Starmer, is part of Mr Farage’s attempt to consolidate his support and address the growing criticism he faces.

Rival parties are pondering whether they should nominate candidates in a way that would turn this practice into a waste of time and money; Some say Mr Farage is at risk of winning the by-election but faces a second contest in a few weeks if parliament’s dirty watchdog finds he has broken the rules.

The reform leader lashed out at the media following the incident in a shocking statement on Tuesday afternoon. Sunday Times Investigation into links with Mr Cottrell and row with Sky News He added that he had “never been so angry in my life” about the alleged mistreatment of his family.

“For some reason last week the editor Times “The newspaper decided to publish the photo of where my daughter lives,” he said, adding, “There is no public interest in my daughter.”

He claimed that “publishers were haranguing him” in between. Sky News, during Times He published a photo of the house as part of an investigation into Mr Farage’s property empire.

Sky News said it had made “reasonable efforts” to contact Mr Farage, who it said had “legitimate questions to answer”. “On one occasion, we approached the property off-camera, identified ourselves, and the property owner chose not to intervene.”

In a bid to head off criticism that the by-election could cost taxpayers more than £300,000, Mr Farage said Reform UK had offered to cover the costs.

“Given that we called for this by-election in the first place, it is right that we pay for it,” he said, seeking to draw a line with Labor, which has faced criticism over the cost of the Makerfield by-election, which saw Andy Burnham return to Westminster to challenge Sir Keir for the Labor leadership.

Ms Badenoch, whose party is best placed to beat Mr Farage and has previously held the seat, confirmed she would not stand as a Conservative candidate in the Clacton by-election.

He accused Mr Farage of having a “hissy fit” over the donations scandals, adding: “He’s a man who cracks under pressure. That’s why he was shouting at journalists yesterday. And what we need to ask ourselves is: Is this someone who can do the best job?”

He added: “He’s already saying he’s guilty by doing this; it feels like an admission of guilt.”

Speaking at the NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara, Sir Keir Starmer criticized the Reform leader’s actions, saying: “This is a desperate display by Nigel Farage and it’s clear why he’s doing it – he’s up to his neck in dirt.”

A spokesman for future Prime Minister Mr Burnham said: “This is a ruse designed to distract from serious allegations about Farage’s funders.”

Green Party leader Zack Polanski described Mr Farage as “a fraudster who was brought down by his own fraud”.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Farage’s statement was “a self-obsessed critique from a Temu Trump who thinks he’s sitting in the Oval Office”.

But long-term ally Raheem Kassam, who hosted him in Washington DC last week, said: “Farage’s move today is genius on many levels. Rather than allowing himself to be judged by the country’s corrupt press, he neutralizes the media by turning any issue into a democratic exercise.”

“This puts the Tories and Restore in over their heads. If they campaign against him in Clacton, they are sending a clear signal that they are aligned with the corporate media and the one-party Westminster consensus.”

Rupert Lowe, the former Reform MP and leader of the rival Restore Britain party, hit back by saying the party would not contest the by-election either.

“We will not be taking part in a Reform-backed media circus in the summer designed to inflate Farage’s ego and distract from perfectly fair questions about why he concealed such large and unregulated financial donations,” he said.