Investigation into Nigel Farage's expenses reopened after by-election victory
The other main political parties all boycotted the by-election and refused to stand against Mr Farage.
The Westminster investigation into Nigel Farage has been reopened following his re-election as the MP for Clacton.
The Reform UK leader secured 22,239 votes. The other main political parties all boycotted the by-election and refused to stand against Mr Farage.
Following the result, the parliamentary standards commission has announced it is reopening the investigation into allegations he refused to declare millions of pounds in donations when he was first elected in 2024.
Count Binface came second with 9,455 and the other 32 candidates on the record-breaking ballot paper received less than 500 votes each.
Count Binface said: “In Makerfield eight weeks ago I got 95 votes. So against Nigel Farage compared to Andy Burnham, I am 1,000 times more popular.
“Does that have anything to do with why he isn’t here tonight?”
Overnight Mr Farage told a rally of Reform UK supporters that he was not attending the count as he had been advised there was an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result” and wanted to avoid being “demeaned and humiliated by nobodies”.
It meant the result was announced to a near-silent audience at Clacton leisure centre.
The party has also cancelled a “major speech” in the constituency with no reason given.
The BBC is reporting that Essex Police had not advised any candidate they should not attend the by-election count. In a statement, they said: “We have proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count.”
Thomas Kerr MSP, Reform’s deputy leader in Scotland, has defended Mr Farage’s decision not to attend the vote count.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast, he said: “I wasn’t down in Clacton, but my understanding is there were serious threats to Nigel and his team so he decided not to attend the count.
“Nigel has private security and it will have been his team that made that call.”
He said there is a “threat rising continually” against politicians, and pointed to the recent death of Ann Widdecombe.
Mr Kerr said: “When I look at the 34 candidates there were no Labour, Conservative, Green, Lib Dem or Restore candidates because they are feart to stand up against Nigel Farage.
“Nigel decided to see if the people of Clacton still had confidence in him, and he was re-elected with a stonking victory.
“The fact the establishment was scared to stand up to him says a lot.”
The by-election will not stop the Metropolitan Police investigation into Reform UK’s donations or the parliamentary investigation into why Mr Farage did not declare a £5 million gift from a billionaire donor.
Just before the 2024 general election, Mr Farage received the money from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Mr Farage says this was an “unconditional gift” and did not declare it, despite newly-elected MPs being required to declare donations made in the previous 12 months.
The parliament’s standards commissioner has since opened an investigation. If the Reform UK leader is found to have breached parliament’s rules, sanctions could lead to a second by-election in Clacton.
When asked if Mr Farage would want to stand in a second by-election, Mr Kerr said: “I suspect so, but I doubt we will get to that stage.
“Nigel Farage is clear he hasn’t broken any rules and we don’t want to see more money wasted on a by-election when one has just been held where Clacton sent him back with a huge mandate.
“Clacton supports Nigel, they’ve sent their local MP back, and we now need to concentrate on this broken country.”
Polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice said the result will give Reform UK confidence if the parliamentary investigation does lead to sanctions against Mr Farage.
He said: “Reform will want to draw attention to the fact he got over 1,000 more votes that he did in the 2024 general election and will therefore argue that the result of the by-election is clear evidence that the voters of Clacton are at least as happy with him now as their MP as they were two years ago.
“The idea that the parliamentary authorities should pursue the suspending of him from the House of Commons or open a recall petition to ascertain whether the voters of Clacton still want him to retain, the House of Commons has its answer to that question.”
If the parliamentary standards commissioner recommends Mr Farage is suspended from the House of Commons for 10 days or more, it could lead to a recall petition. If more than 10 per cent of voters in Clacton sign this petition, it would lead to another by-election.
After months of leading in the opinion polls, Reform UK has now slumped behind Labour following the election of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister.
Sir John added: “This by-election tells us nothing about Reform’s standing across the country as a whole.
“It potentially gives Farage the opportunity to turn the page politically, if not with the commissioner, and restore Reform’s lead in the opinion polls.
“The decision to call the by-election was followed by a two to three point drop in the polls because of the allegations getting more publicity, but the by-election didn’t do Reform any good nationally, and Labour is enjoying a ‘Burnham bounce’ and is leading the polls for the first time in over 12 months.
“He could have used his speech to say he had taken on the establishment and proved Clacton wants to stick with him, and given a broader political message to improve Reform’s position, but that’s not going to happen now and we can only guess.”
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