{"id":2644906,"date":"2026-08-14T07:32:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nigel-farage-beats-count-binface-to-stay-as-clacton-on-seas-mp\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T07:40:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:40:39","slug":"nigel-farage-beats-count-binface-to-stay-as-clacton-on-seas-mp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nigel-farage-beats-count-binface-to-stay-as-clacton-on-seas-mp\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigel Farage beats Count Binface to stay as Clacton-on-Sea&#8217;s MP"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnigel-farage-beats-count-binface-to-stay-as-clacton-on-seas-mp%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2644906&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Clacton-on-Sea in a by-election that he initiated. He won with 63% of the vote, defeating satirical candidate count Binface, who only garnered 27%.Neither Labor nor Conservative parties contested,making Farage\u2019s victory expected. Farage staged the election as a political statement amid ongoing investigations into his finances, including a controversy over a crypto-linked gift and alleged benefits from a convicted money launderer. Despite running unopposed in practical terms, he urged supporters to vote as a message to the government, aiming to demonstrate popular backing. The election also featured Count Binface, a parody candidate with a satirical platform mocking Farage and criticizing political scandals. Farage hopes his victory will help his party, Reform UK, recover from scandals and elevate its standing, especially as the Labour Party, amid leadership changes, has seen a slight polling increase and now leads in voter surveys over Reform UK.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nigel-farage\/\">Reform UK leader Nigel Farage <\/a>won his election to stay on as the member of Parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, walking away with victory from a race where his only competition was a trashcan-wearing space alien.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Farage handily won the coastal town\u2019s election with 63% of the vote compared to just 27% for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4639718\/count-binface-nigel-farage-clacton-by-election\/\">Binface<\/a>. Neither the Labour Party nor the Conservatives opted to run a candidate in the race, making Reform\u2019s victory unsurprising.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4686733\/nigel-farage-count-binface-parliament-election\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Nigel Farage beats Count Binface to stay as Clacton-on-Sea\u2019s member of Parliament<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4687219\/poland-russia-assassination-plot-us-citizen\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Poland says it foiled Russian assassination plot against US citizen in Warsaw<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4686890\/zelensky-missile-plea-ukraine\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Zelensky\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelenskys-missile-plea-shows-dire-state-of-ukraines-war-machine\/\" title=\"Zelensky\u2019s missile plea shows dire state of Ukraine\u2019s war machine\">missile plea shows dire state<\/a> of Ukraine\u2019s war machine<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cToday the voters in Clacton have stuck up two fingers to the entire political establishment,\u201d Farage said, referring to the British version of flipping the middle finger.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">Britain\u2019s Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage leaves a polling station in Walton on the Naze, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 after casting his vote for the Clacton on Sea by-election. (AP Photo\/Richard Pelham)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/08\/localimages\/AP26225340527433.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Britain\u2019s Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage leaves a polling station in Walton on the Naze, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, after casting his vote for the Clacton on Sea by-election.(AP Photo\/Richard Pelham)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Farage himself <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4638505\/nigel-farage-resign-parliament-run-again-by-election\/\">instigated this by-election<\/a> as a referendum on his office amid multiple government investigations into a multimillion-pound financial gift from Thailand-based crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne. The member of Parliament said it was a no-strings-attached gift he intended to use as a fund for his personal protection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Farage\u2019s situation became even more complicated after the Parliament standards commissioner opened another investigation last month after a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/politics\/article\/revealed-nigel-farage-secretly-funded-by-convicted-criminal-j0brtrlnk\"><em>Sunday Times<\/em> report <\/a>produced evidence that the MP received a slew of benefits from convicted \u201cdark money\u201d launderer George Cottrell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He called the by-election after deciding that \u201cthe people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite running functionally unopposed in the election, Farage pressed his supporters to head to the polls as a \u201cmessage\u201d to the British government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019ve probably just got home from work, you\u2019ve been out, you\u2019ve been busy. And it\u2019s hot! And you think, \u2018You know what, he\u2019s going to win anyway. It\u2019s gonna be a landslide.\u2019 Let me tell you something: I need your vote,\u201d the Reform leader said in an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Nigel_Farage\/status\/2087952089083232711\">election-day plea<\/a>. \u201cBecause every vote sends an even stronger message. That was the whole point of this by-election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLet\u2019s get a result that the establishment can\u2019t forget,\u201d Farage said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Count Binface, the alter ego of British comedian Jon Harvey, put up little meaningful fight to topple Farage, instead running on a satirical platform meant to turn the election into a spectacle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The count released a manifesto at the end of last month, outlining a 20-point platform including promises to \u201ccut your taxes, and raise everyone else\u2019s\u201d and \u201cbuild at least one affordable house.\u201d Several of the manifesto points were thinly veiled digs at Farage, such as Binface\u2019s promise to \u201cspend more time in Clacton-on-Sea than in Washington D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">Count Binface is interviewed at a studio in London ahead of the Clacton by-election, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Kirsty Wigglesworth)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/08\/localimages\/AP26212321952502.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Count Binface is interviewed at a studio in London ahead of the Clacton by-election, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Kirsty Wigglesworth)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Binface also pledged not to \u201caccept \u00a35 million gifts from crypto-billionaires (on Earth)\u201d \u2014 a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4638505\/nigel-farage-resign-parliament-run-again-by-election\/\">reference to the financial scandal <\/a>that got his Reform rival in this position to begin with.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4684943\/count-binface-elmo-british-tradition-novelty-candidates\/\">FROM COUNT BINFACE TO ELMO: THE BRITISH TRADITION OF NOVELTY CANDIDATES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Farage is hoping that his successful reelection will allow his party, Reform UK, to move past accusations of illicit financial dealings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The party sat at the top of voter intention polls for months as former Prime Minister<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/keir-starmer\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"3660\"> Keir Starmer<\/a> floundered on the national stage and lost the support of even his own Labour allies. When Starmer stood down last month under immense internal and external pressure, Labour star Andy Burnham was selected within the party to replace him.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, Labour has enjoyed a boost in the polls and just barely eked out a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/europe-poll-of-polls\/united-kingdom\/\">first-place position in voter surveys<\/a>, polling at 25% compared to Reform\u2019s 24%. The Conservatives and Greens remain in distant third and fourth place, with 19% and 12% each.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nigel Farage re-elected as MP for Clacton-on-Sea, defeating Count Binface<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2644907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26225340527433.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[84150,32382,5894,33442],"class_list":["post-2644906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-clacton-on-sea","tag-nigel-farage","tag-politics","tag-uk-elections"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26225340527433.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2644906"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2644914,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644906\/revisions\/2644914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2644907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2644906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2644906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2644906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}