Clacton-on-Sea (AFP) – Hard-right British politician Nigel Farage reclaimed his seat in a by-election, according to the final tally Friday, though his main rival and joke candidate Count Binface took an larger than expected share of the ballot.
Farage, who triggered the vote by resigning the parliamentary seat he had held since 2024 over an investigation into his finances, swept 63 percent of the ballots in the English constituency of Clacton. While votes were still being counted, Farage had declared victory. "The verdict is in and it is a convincing and overwhelming win," he said as supporters chanted his name at an event in Essex that was broadcast on X. His main rival, Count Binface, however, exceeded expectations by earning 9,455 votes, 27 percent of the total. Analysts had anticipated a win for Farage but underestimated the appeal of the self-styled "intergalactic space warrior", who campaigns wearing a rubbish bin on his head, forecasting a large share of the vote approaching but not exceeding 20 percent. The vote had been shunned by Britain's main political parties, including the governing Labour Party, as a stunt by the Reform UK leader – once touted as a potential prime minister – to dodge scrutiny of his dealings. Can UK's hard-right Farage bin financial probe with by-election win? That gave dozens of fringe candidates including Binface – the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey – to seize the spotlight. "The moral victory is already mine," he told AFP at the counting centre early Friday ahead of the final tally. Farage did not attend the count, where candidates traditionally gather for the declaration of results, saying Essex Police had warned him that an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result" was planned. Acting Returning Officer Ian Davidson said election officials had worked with police to ensure the process was "completed safely and securely", adding there was "no reason not to proceed with the count process at this time".
