Farage Wins Back Clacton Seat in Landslide

Nigel Farage, leader of the British populist party Reform UK, won back his seat in Parliament on Friday after securing a decisive victory in the Clacton by-election. However, he did not attend the declaration of the result, saying police had warned him of an organized effort to disrupt the event.

Farage unexpectedly resigned as an MP five weeks ago, triggering a by-election in his Clacton constituency. He then stood again, saying he wanted voters to judge him amid allegations that he had failed to declare a £5m ($6.7m) gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Farage denies wrongdoing. A parliamentary standards investigation, which was paused during the election, can now resume following his re-election.

Before the official declaration, Farage told supporters that he had achieved a “convincing victory”. He said he would not appear on stage for the announcement because of what he described as an “organized campaign to disrupt and degrade” the result.

Reform UK said there was a “credible threat” against Farage. He therefore stayed away from the declaration, where his result was announced in his absence.

Britain’s major political parties did not field candidates, dismissing the by-election as a political stunt. Farage instead faced 33 opponents in a record field of 34 candidates, including satirical candidate Count Binface, who finished second with 9,455 votes. Farage won with 22,239 votes.

(Reuters, est)