Nigel Farage’s decision to trigger a byelection appears to have already backfired

Photograph by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

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Nigel Farage has announced his intention to resign as the MP for Clacton and trigger what he called a “people versus the establishment byelection”.

So what? It is a dramatic gamble that already appears to have backfired. Farage wants to deflect criticism of his personal finances by submitting himself to the judgement of his constituents, but other parties are sitting out the contest. This includes

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  Restore Britain, which called it a “Reform-sponsored media circus”;

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  Labour, which said Farage was “desperately trying to change the subject”; and

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  the Conservatives, which described it as a “fake byelection”.

This leaves… the comedy protest candidate Count Binface, who has announced his intention to take on Farage.

Woe is me. Farage has responded tetchily to media scrutiny of his £5m gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, which he says is “not the public’s business”. Yesterday he likened the UK to a “communist country”, insisted “making money is not a crime” and denounced a “media pile on” following a report in The Times on his £4m property empire.

When will the byelection happen? It’s not clear. Under parliamentary convention, once an incumbent party submits a motion requesting a vote, MPs decide on the timing. With less than two weeks before recess, there’s no guarantee this will happen before autumn.

Timing is everything. This matters because Farage hopes to win re-election before the parliamentary standards commissioner decides whether Farage’s failure to declare Harborne’s gift broke the code of conduct. Yesterday the Reform leader described it as a “lottery win”.

This investigation is not going away, meaning there could be a second byelection in Clacton later this year if the commissioner rules against Farage. The Conservatives and Restore both said they will stand in this vote if it takes place.

There could be more. Farage is also facing the possibility of another two standards investigations, one into whether he broke the rules by not declaring support from aristocrat and convicted fraudster George Cottrell, and another into whether he lobbied the Bank of England over crypto regulation changes that would have benefitted his donors, including Harborne.

Carefully curated. The Reform leader has made a career of casting himself as a beer-guzzling political insurgent, despite his affluent upbringing. Yesterday he cast his decision to pre-empt a possible byelection as an attempt to “stick two fingers up to the entire establishment”.

The problem for Farage is that by rubbing shoulders with billionaires, he is increasingly seen as part of this establishment. Although Reform still tops the polls, its lead has slipped, and nearly 70% of voters worry that Harborne’s money gives him too much influence over Farage.

Common ground. One thing most people can agree on is that Farage has “financially done well”, as he put it yesterday. He charges as much as £40,000 for speeches, was recently paid £270,000 to promote gold bars and earned £328,228 in the past 12 months as a presenter for GB News – all on top of his MP salary of £98,599.

What about Clacton? Many locals do not seem fazed by Harborne’s £5m. But there are grumblings about Farage’s apparent lack of interest in local issues, from dog poo on the beachside promenade to dangerous e-bike drivers

What’s more… Count Binface is not a serious contender, but in a country that voted for Boaty McBoatface, anything is possible.