London —

A political gamble looks like it has spectacularly backfired.

When British right-wing populist leader Nigel Farage announced he was resigning as a lawmaker and triggering a special election in the face of a swirl of allegations over personal financing, he sought the high ground, saying his constituents “should be the judges of my actions.”

Instead, rival parties united in dismissing his actions as a stunt, leaving his only opponent to be a garbage-can wearing comedian whose policies include forcing rule-breaking cyclists to ride unicycles.

The leader of the Reform UK party – which is topping most UK opinion polls – resigned as a member of parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, his constituency in southeast England, on Tuesday, amid mounting controversy over undeclared financial donations.