The leader of the UK Reform Party, Nigel Farage, has won back his seat in parliament after a by-election boycotted by major parties. This election was called after he resigned last month.
His biggest opponent in the election held on Thursday was Count Boniface. He is a satirical candidate known for dressing in a trash-can costume and using jokes to mock British politics. With this win, Mr Farage will represent the Clacton constituency again.
The election results came out on Friday. The BBC reported that Mr Farage received 22,239 votes, which is 63 percent of the total. Count Boniface followed with 9,455 votes, making up 27 percent.
In total, 34 candidates ran in the election.
Mr Farage stepped down from his seat in mid-July. This was after the British parliament started investigating whether he failed to report a $6.7 million gift from Christopher Harborne, a crypto billionaire based in Thailand, in 2024.
The Reform Party leader, who supported Brexit in 2016, claimed he did nothing wrong. He said there was no need to declare the money since it was a personal gift given before he was elected.
After the investigation began, he resigned, calling it an “establishment hit job” and a media-led “witch-hunt.” He decided to run again for his seat to show he still had support from voters.
The BBC reported that Mr Farage celebrated his win on Friday, calling it an “overwhelming win” that boosted his vote share from the last election.
“Today the voters in Clacton have stuck up two fingers to the entire political establishment,” Mr Farage stated. This is a British expression showing defiance, similar to using the middle finger in other cultures.
His election win raises concerns about the growing presence of far-right politicians in Europe. But it is hard to make broad conclusions about his victory since he faced no real competition.
Mr Farage is well-liked in the Clacton Conservative constituency on the east coast of England.
Bridget Phillipson, chairwoman of the Labour Party, said the election did not mean a real victory for Mr Farage. She insisted he should be honest about his finances.
“The mountain of sleaze and scandal he and Reform are now engulfed in has grown and grown while he’s been trying to distract the public by fighting a by-election against a bin,” Ms Phillipson said.
Hours after the results were announced, the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said it would resume its investigation. This investigation had been paused after Mr Farage resigned.
Mr Farage is also under investigation for his financial links to George Cottrell. Cottrell is a wealthy businessman in the crypto-gambling industry and spent eight months in a US prison for fraud about ten years ago. He had offered to assist undercover agents posing as drug dealers in laundering money.
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