Photographers covering the Clacton by-election count had brought their extra-wide lenses on Friday morning to capture the biggest field of candidates in UK electoral history.
They were also hoping for a shot of Nigel Farage next to Count Binface. But when the declaration finally arrived at 6am, the man responsible for it all was nowhere to be seen.
Nigel Farage comfortably won re-election in the contest he’d triggered by quitting Parliament last month, but decided to skip his supposed moment of glory, with Reform UK offering conflicting and changing explanations as to why.
Shorts
It meant that the stage was left to comedy rival Count Binface and the other eccentric and novelty candidates on the 34-strong ballot paper. In total, it took the returning officer a full five minutes and 44 seconds to get through the list of results.
