Overview
- Nigel Farage forced the snap contest by resigning in July and is running to reclaim the Clacton seat in a by-election set for Thursday 13 August.
- All major UK parties declined to stand, calling Farage’s manoeuvre a stunt and leaving Reform UK to face a field dominated by independents and novelty candidates.
- Count Binface, the satirical persona of comedian Jon Harvey, has become the media-facing challenger and polls from Survation put Farage on roughly 73 percent and Binface near 20 percent.
- A record 34 candidates are on the ballot, more than 100 journalists are accredited for the count, and officials warn counting could run into the early hours because of the long ballot paper.
- The Parliamentary Standards investigation into whether Farage should have declared a £5m donation was paused when he left the Commons and could restart if he returns, which might lead to sanctions or a recall-triggering suspension.