Nigel Farage’s likely victory in the Clacton by-election will be a hollow one. The major parties boycotted the contest: of the Reform leader’s 33 opponents, the most prominent was a screenwriter with a bin on his head. This by-election was not forced on Farage by the parliamentary investigation into undeclared donations – this can resume

This week’s seaside showdown against ‘independent space warrior’ Count Binface might be just the start of the Reform leader’s electoral headaches, as Sean O’Grady explains

The ultimate winner from this entirely unnecessary contest will be neither the Reform leader nor Britain’s most prominent waste receptacle, as Sean O’Grady explains