Clacton by-election live: Nigel Farage makes final push for support with voters set to go to polls on Thursday

Clacton by-election live: Nigel Farage makes final push for support with voters set to go to polls on Thursday The Reform UK leader triggered the contest after deciding to stand down amidst massive scrutiny over his financial affairs - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Voters in Clacton-on-Sea are set to head to the polls on Thursday for a crunch by-election, with Nigel Farage widely expected to reclaim the seat despite a challenge from comedian candidate Count Binface. The Reform UK leader, who is campaigning in the constituency ahead of the vote, triggered the contest after deciding to stand down amidst massive scrutiny over his financial affairs. The Tories, Lib Dems, Greens and Labour have all announced that they will not stand in the by-election with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch describing it as “fake” and Sir Keir Starmer calling it “a desperate political stunt”. Count Binface – a satirical character who has pledged to abolish VAR in football, conscript people who play loud music on public transport and “nationalise Adele” – has emerged as his main rival. Tendring District Council has confirmed a total of 34 candidates - a record for any parliamentary contest. It comes as Reform UK is struggling in national polling following a series of scandals, including questions about a £5m donation he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and gifts from a convicted criminal, George Cottrell. The latest YouGov survey put Labour on 24 points, two points ahead of Nigel Farage’s party on 22 per cent. Size of Farage's majority at last election in Clacton Back in 2024, Nigel Farage won the seat of Clacton with 46.2 per cent of the vote. It marked a majority of 8,405 over his Conservative rival. Badenoch vows to put forward ‘serious Tory candidate’ in Clacton Kemi Badenoch has vowed to put forward a "serious candidate" in Clacton should a parliamentary standards investigation lead to a second by-election in the Essex constituency. The declaration came last week ahead of Thursday’s by-election. The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is seeking re-election and is one of 34 individuals listed on the extensive 3ft-long ballot paper. In the letter, Ms Badenoch wrote: “Mr Farage wants the people of Clacton to settle his problems for him. “He wants to point to you and say, ‘even after the £5 million scandal, Clacton still chose me.'” You can read more below: Badenoch vows to put forward ‘serious Tory candidate’ in Clacton – on one condition Recap: Who is Count Binface? After all other major political parties refused to stand in the Clacton by election, Nigel Farage’s main competitor has emerged as Count Binface. The satirical character has pledged to abolish VAR in football, conscript people who play loud music on public transport and “nationalise Adele” The comedian, who is described as an “independent space warrior” and wears a bin on his head, has contested a number of elections, including contests against Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak and most recently the by-election in Makerfield, where he received 95 votes. The man behind the mask is Jonathan David Harvey, a comedian who has has worked on shows including Have I Got News For You and the Thick of It. Watch: Count Binface's first-ever interview resurfaces six years later as he prepares to face Farage Count Binface would beat Nigel Farage in Clacton if all Britons could vote in by-election, poll finds Count Binface would beat Nigel Farage in a head-to-head contest in Clacton if the entire nation was voting, a new poll on the eve of the by-election has found. New polling from More in Common shows that in a head-to-head contest, 37 per cent of Britons want Count Binface to win the seat, while only 32 per cent would back the Reform UK leader. Green Party voters were most likely to prefer Count Binface to win, with 62 per cent saying so, followed by 56 per cent of Liberal Democrat voters and 54 per cent of Labour voters. You can read more below: Count Binface would beat Farage in Clacton if all Britons could vote, poll finds Recap: Pilot’s flight path draws bin shape above Clacton days before Farage v Count Binface by-election Just days before Nigel Farage takes on Count Binface in the Clacton by-election, a pilot traced the shape of a bin with their flightpath near the coastal town. According to flight tracking data from Flightradar24, the light aircraft took off from Earls Colne airfield in Essex at 2.48pm on Saturday and landed at 4.13pm, having spent around half an hour above the sea off Clacton, zig-zagging to create a flightpath in the shape of a bin. The plane is in private ownership according to Flightradar24 and it is not known who flew it during the stunt. You can read more below: Pilot’s flight path draws bin shape above Clacton days before by-election Count Binface and the serious political message behind the UK’s ‘joke’ candidates A man in a bin costume standing against a Reform politician once considered a ’fringe’ candidate offers a window into the shifting boundaries of British politics, writes Richard Toye. Count Binface and the serious political message behind the UK’s ‘joke’ candidates Watch: What do Nigel Farage’s Clacton constituents think about his resignation? Recap: Full list of candidates for the Clacton constituency • Joseph 77 (Independent) • Adham Alkhatip (The Forward Party) • Count Binface (Count Binface Party) • Nick The Incredible Flying Brick (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) • Tony Cane (Independent) • Woke Trump Carrzee (Independent) • William Stuart James Clouston (Social Democratic Party) •Rees Cowne (Independent) • Glenn Charles Cummings (Independent) • Martin Davies (Freedom Alliance – Real People, Real Alternative!) • Andy Erlam (Independent) • Nigel Farage (Reform UK) • Attieh Fard (Independent) • Laurence Fox (The Reclaim Party) • Tony Francis (Independent) • Robin Green (Independent) • Abi Hookway (Independent) • Howling Laud Hope (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) • Stephen Richard Ingram (Independent) • Amy Morris (Independent) • Derrick Norbert Morris (Independent) • Michael Noel O’Keeffe (Independent) • Martyn OBrien (Independent) • Nick Pelas (Independent) • Ketankumar Pipaliya (UK VOICE safer and stronger UK) • Daniel Pocock (Independent) • James Ransley (Consensus Party Candidate) • Gerry Smith (Independent) • Kai Stephens (British Democrats) • John Stevens (Rejoin EU) • Baron Von Thunderclap (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) • Pamela Walford (Independent) • Marcus White (Everyone is God Party) • Marc Wilkinson (Independent) Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments