Farage says he will not attend vote count amid ‘plot to embarrass him’
Nigel Farage has said he will not attend the Clacton byelection count after advice from Essex police about a plot to embarrass him on stage during the announcement of the result.
The Reform UK leader pre-empted the official announcement of the result of the byelection by telling supporters he had secured more votes than when he won the seat at the 2024 general election.
Farage called the result a “convincing, overwhelming win” that would surpass the 21,225 votes he received just two years ago, PA Media is reporting.
However, speaking at a “Farage Fest” event in Essex organised by Reform UK, he said he would not attend the traditional declaration of the results after being given notice of an “organised campaign” to “disrupt and degrade the result”.
Acting returning officer Ian Davidson said it was Farage’s decision “whether or not to attend the count”.
Key events
At 22,239 votes, Farage received 63.34% of the byelection vote. The 9,455 ballots for parody candidate Count Binface – his nearest competitor – was 26.93%.
Sammy Gecsoyler
There was little applause when Nigel Farage was announced the victor of the Clacton byelecion, with his supporters nowhere to be seen or heard in the counting hall.
The result came after a gruelling count where tellers had to grapple with incredibly long ballot papers past sunrise to tally tens of thousands of votes.
Aside from Farage, who snubbed the count, the remaining 33 candidates lined up – nearly filling the width of the room – when the results were finally announced.
The announcement of Count Binface’s 9,000-plus votes was greeted to moderate cheers and claps in the hall, though the mood remained resolutely low-energy.
The largest cheers were directed towards the Monster Raving Looning party, whose candidates double-digit vote counts were greeted with enthusiastic celebrations.
Count Binface faced a media scrum as he tried to leave the count and left out the back door.
Nigel Farage isn’t at the counting centre to give a traditional victory speech – he said earlier in the morning that he would not attend the count, claiming Essex police had advised him about a plot to embarrass him on stage during the result announcement.
Farage declared byelection winner
Nigel Farage has been declared winner of the byelection.
Ian Davidson, the acting returning officer, also said voter turnout had been 44.37%.
Nigel Farage has received 22,239 votes, the officer says, while Count Binface got 9,455.
His reading through the final tally for all 34 candidates is continuing.
The byelection’s acting returning officer is announcing the vote result in what he calls a “unique election” with a “unique ballot paper”.
The poll candidates look to have lined up as an announcement is getting under way at the vote counting centre.
This election is a novelty with a record 34 candidates, including Howling Laud Hope of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White from the Everyone is God Party.
They have pounded the streets of Clacton over the past few weeks as they seek to win the support of about 80,000 voters.
Given the numbers who stood, Clacton residents were presented with a ballot paper about a metre (three feet) long.
Turnout was widely expected to be low as it often is in special elections. In the July 2024 general election, Farage faced eight rivals and garnered 21,225 votes, or 46.2% of the total. Turnout was 58.7%.
This election took place during the summer holidays with thousands of voters away from Clacton. It also took place during another UK heatwave, which could have seen many opt against making the trip to the polling station.
There’s been a call over loudspeaker for “candidates and agents” at the Clacton leisure centre in Essex and we could be nearing result time.
Count Binface looks to be among a group of people – some with costume hats – that have gathered in a corner of the room.
Nigel Farage’s byelection and the subsequent candidacy of Count Binface has transcended the usual news cycle of UK politics and made headlines around the world.
Binface recently went viral after an interview with a US journalist in which he was asked to put an answer into terms an American audience would be able to understand.
His quick-witted response is well worth a watch here.
The intergalactic space warrior, leader of the Recyclons from Sigma IX and part-time politician on Earth – played by comedian Jon Harvey – has also seen his campaign covered in recent days by Time magazine, the Washington Post and France 24.
And my colleague Daniel Boffey wrote a lengthy profile piece on Binface here, having spoken to those who know him:
It’s fair to say, despite his slim chances of causing an upset, the bin has captured the public imagination.
And, while Farage led polls in Clacton, a wider poll of the British electorate found Binface to be more popular in a head-to-head run-off against the Reform UK leader.
Perhaps something for the man who wants to become the prime minsiter to mull over when the giddy haze of his expected bylection victory subsides?
Farage snubs vote count for ‘political Glastonbury’
Sammy Gecsoyler
Nigel Farage snubbed Clacton leisure centre, where the count was being held, for Farage Fest, a carnival-like event held in the rural fringes of the constituency.
GB News were in attendance and called it a “political Glastonbury in the middle of Essex”, so the Guardian attempted to pay a visit too.
After a 25-minute or so drive, in an airbase far away from the heart of Clacton-on-Sea, a lone guard sat in complete darkness beside a sign that read Farage Fest.
After managing to get through this initial security checkpoint and parking up, trudging through a dark country lane by foot was the next step. Soon, the festival came into full view, with a lit-up ferris wheel, festival tents and Farage himself at about 3.30am, visible through a gated fence.
But after reaching the entrance, undercover security guards intervened and said it was a ticketed event. They asked the Guardian to leave and trailed behind while leaving the premises.
Shortly after, Farage announced he wouldn’t be attending the count at all.
Nigel Farage earlier declared a “resounding victory” in the byelection although votes were still being counted and no official result had been declared.
“The verdict is in and it is a convincing and overwhelming win,” he claimed to supporters at the Reform UK event in Essex broadcast on social media.
Here are some of the scenes at the Clacton Leisure Centre in Essex as the byelection with a record 34 candidates – and a near metre-long ballot paper – draws out the counting process.
‘Robust policing operation’ in place at vote count, says official
The acting returning officer for the Clacton byelection, Ian Davidson, said he would not comment on security matters but that there was a “robust policing operation” in place.
Davidson, the chief executive of Tendring district council, told the count after Farage’s speech in Essex: “We work very closely with Essex police and have done so throughout this process, and continue to do so tonight, and we will be continuing the count, as we always do, in a safe and secure manner.”
In a later statement also cited by PA Media, Davidson said:
We have worked closely with Essex police colleagues to ensure the election process is completed safely and securely, as is evident from the level of security we have in place here today.
This includes a robust policing operation throughout the day and including at the count.
It is a candidate’s decision whether or not to attend the count.
However I want to reassure people we have no reason not to proceed with the count process at this time.
More comments here from Nigel Farage saying he will not attend the byelection result after being told by Essex police of an “organised campaign” to disrupt it.
“Once again it shows you the sheer intolerance, the sheer loss of fundamental democratic principles that those that went before us, fought in world wars, to fight for and preserve,” he said at a Farage Fest event in Essex, quoted by PA. He added:
I’m not scared of these people, far from it. But I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for, and you’ve tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies, and I will not sadly be attending the count.
Farage says he will not attend vote count amid ‘plot to embarrass him’
Nigel Farage has said he will not attend the Clacton byelection count after advice from Essex police about a plot to embarrass him on stage during the announcement of the result.
The Reform UK leader pre-empted the official announcement of the result of the byelection by telling supporters he had secured more votes than when he won the seat at the 2024 general election.
Farage called the result a “convincing, overwhelming win” that would surpass the 21,225 votes he received just two years ago, PA Media is reporting.
However, speaking at a “Farage Fest” event in Essex organised by Reform UK, he said he would not attend the traditional declaration of the results after being given notice of an “organised campaign” to “disrupt and degrade the result”.
Acting returning officer Ian Davidson said it was Farage’s decision “whether or not to attend the count”.
Opening: Farage expected to win ‘desperate stunt’ byelection with results due in coming hours
Hello and welcome to this special UK politics live blog, where we will be bringing you the result from Nigel Farage’s latest vanity parade. Sorry, I mean the 2026 Clacton byelection.
Thousands of residents in the Essex seat voted on Thursday in a ballot featuring Nigel Farage and a range of novelty and fringe candidates led by Count Binface, after all the main political parties (and Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain) decided against fielding candidates.
Farage resigned as the MP for Clacton at the start of July and forced a byelection in what he claimed was an attempt to address complaints over a deepening scandal about gifts he received.
However, leaders from across the political spectrum branded the Reform UK leader’s scheme a “desperate stunt” to avoid scrutiny.
Should he win the byelection – and polling suggested he was on course to see off main rival Count Binface – Farage is expected to face a formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog, which was opened in May after the Guardian revealed he had received a £5m personal gift from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based crypto billionaire, in April 2024.
Farage has denied the gift amounted to an inducement to run for office, insisting it was personal in nature. He has given a series of explanations for the gift, including that it was for his security and a reward for Brexit.
If parliament imposes sanctions for failing to declare the gifts, he may be removed from the House of Commons and face a second byelection.
But that is a discussion for another day – or, possibly, later this morning. As it is, stay with us and we will bring you the results (expected any time between 5am and 8am), as well as all the usual news and reaction as the day unfolds.
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