Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK party, said on Tuesday he was standing down to fight again for his place in parliament in what he called a war against an establishment bent on discrediting him with accusations about his finances.
After weeks of facing accusations, he had failed to properly declare millions of pounds worth of gifts from wealthy backers, Farage used a televised announcement to vent his anger over what he described as a “pile on” by Britain’s liberal elite.
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“I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,” he said, announcing his decision to step down only to trigger an election in the southern English area where he was elected to parliament for the first time in 2024.
“This will be a people versus the establishment by-election” he said. “It is a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment.”
