STORY
Voters in Clacton are choosing their next MP in a by-election featuring a record 34 candidates, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and satirical candidate Count Binface. Polling stations opened at 7am and will close at 10pm, with the result expected after counting overnight.
The contest was triggered when Farage resigned from the House of Commons in July while facing scrutiny over a £5 million personal gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Farage has said the money was a personal gift which did not require declaration as a political donation. The parliamentary standards investigation was paused when he ceased to be an MP and could resume if he returns to the Commons.
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have not fielded candidates in the contest. Tendring District Council confirmed that the 34-candidate field exceeds the previous record of 26 candidates at the 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election. Farage won Clacton at the 2024 general election with 46.2% of the vote.