Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has regained his parliamentary seat, besting his main challenger Count Binface in a by-election he triggered by resigning his post last month. Farage received 22,239 votes in the Clacton by-election compared with 9,455 for serial joke candidate Binface, who wears a rubbish can on his head and calls himself an “intergalactic space warrior”. The United Kingdom’s main political parties boycotted the election, creating the embarrassing face-off for Farage who had sought to use the election to boost his standing after allegations of financial impropriety.
Farage did not attend the official vote count early Friday and cancelled a planned victory speech, the BBC reported. In earlier remarks as votes rolled in, Farage claimed a “convincing, overwhelming win”. Binface, whose campaign promises included putting a cap on croissant prices and moving the restroom hand dryer of a local pub, told Al Jazeera “there’s more than one way to win.” Listing former British premiers he has challenged in previous elections, he said: “You guys are fixated on winning numerically, but … where’s Theresa May, where’s Rishi Sunak, where’s Boris Johnson?” The 9,455 votes in Clacton for Binface, who has run in six elections since 2019, were his best-ever electoral result.
Voter turnout in Thursday’s election was 44 percent, lower than the 59 percent turnout recorded at the 2024 general election, but not unusual for a by-election. Farage and Binface both topped a long list of joke candidates, independents and members of fringe political parties. Candidates on stage at the Clacton Leisure Centre, where the count was held, were seen cheering for each other as the results were announced, with many receiving fewer than 100 votes.
Many view Farage, a right-wing populist who was a vocal campaigner for Brexit, as a prospective candidate for prime minister. He has pledged to crack down on migration, including using the British navy to intercept and return asylum seekers arriving by boat. Farage quit his seat in parliament in July during an investigation into whether he failed to report a 5 million pound ($6.75m) gift from a crypto billionaire overseas, triggering the by-election he took part in.
I have not broken the law in any way at all,” said Farage of the allegations at the time.
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