CLACTON-ON-SEA, England (AP) 鈥� Nigel Farage regained his seat in Parliament on Friday, beating a field of fringe candidates led by trash-can-wearing comic in a special election boycotted by mainstream parties that called it
Farage, who some see as a possible next prime minister, abruptly quit his seat in July amid an investigation into whether he failed to report a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift from an overseas crypto billionaire.
He denied wrongdoing and to prove he had voters鈥� support, regaining it with 63% of Thursday鈥檚 vote in an unusual election on the hottest day of the year. Binface, a serial candidate who has challenged prime ministers past and present, represented a protest vote and finished second in a field of 34 candidates 鈥� many of them also jokers 鈥� with about 27%, according to the results announced Friday.
Farage hailed the result as an 鈥渙verwhelming win鈥� that increased his vote share over the last election, but it鈥檚 hard to draw broad conclusions from the election given the lack of genuine rivals and the fact that Farage has long been popular in the conservative constituency on the east coast of England.
鈥淭oday the voters in Clacton have stuck up two fingers to the entire political establishment,鈥� Farage said, referring to the British equivalent of a crude gesture that employs the middle finger in other cultures.
The result will send him back to the House of Commons, but an investigation by a parliamentary watchdog that was suspended when he stepped down was resumed hours after the result was announced. That means Farage could be forced out of Parliament 鈥� and face yet another election.
Farage reshaped UK politics
Farage, the chief cheerleader in getting Britain to a decade ago, has shattered the country’s longstanding two-party system by positioning himself to the right of the Conservative Party.
With Farage鈥檚 win, Reform has just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, but he has made the party a major political force by drawing on a mix of cultural grievances and a vow to stop what he has called an invasion of migrants crossing the English Channel in inflatable rafts. The party has frequently changed the national conversation and forced the governing center-left Labour Party and the Conservatives, long the dominant parties, to address Reform鈥檚 key issues.
But with Farage under scrutiny and a Labour leadership shake-up that installed Andy Burnham as prime minister, there鈥檚 room for Labour to regain some ground.
Farage still faces investigation over an undeclared donation
Pressure will continue to mount on Farage as Parliament鈥檚 standards watchdog investigates an he got in 2024 from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Farage says he didn鈥檛 need to declare the money because it was a personal gift he used to fund his security and was made before he was elected.
, he complained of an 鈥渆stablishment hit job鈥� and a media-driven 鈥渨itch-hunt.鈥�
Farage also faces an investigation into his financial relationship with , an aristocratic crypto-gambling entrepreneur who served eight months in a U.S. prison for fraud a decade ago after offering to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers.
Cottrell remains close to Farage and has reportedly given him money for security and staff. Farage has denied wrongdoing and stood by the man he calls 鈥淧osh George.鈥�
Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said the election was no victory for Farage, and he needs to come clean over his finances and relationship with Cottrell.
鈥淭he mountain of sleaze and scandal he and Reform are now engulfed in has grown and grown while he鈥檚 been trying to distract the public by fighting a by-election against a bin,鈥� Phillipson said.
Farage was a no-show at the vote count
Farage鈥檚 gambit to resign and run again backfired when other parties refused to participate and he was left facing a massive field of independent and small-party candidates, including novelty acts such as Howling Laud Hope of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White from the Everyone is God Party.
Farage declared victory in the early morning and blew off the official declaration where he would have had to stand alongside the other candidates 鈥� a time-honored tradition in British politics.
鈥淚鈥檓 damned if I鈥檓 going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory … and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies,鈥� Farage told supporters at a victory party.
Farage also said he didn鈥檛 attend because police told him about an 鈥渙rganized campaign to disrupt and degrade the result.鈥� A spokesperson for Reform said there was a credible threat against him, though police disputed that.
Fiona Byrne, who wouldn鈥檛 say who she voted for, said Farage shouldn鈥檛 have called the election, which she said was an expensive joke.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been a complete waste of money and time for everybody here, and he just needs to face the music,鈥� she said.
But John Fairclough said he was happy Farage won because he鈥檚 what the country needs.
鈥淭o my mind he hasn鈥檛 done anything wrong,鈥� Fairclough said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a threat to the main media and government who want to just control us and control everything.鈥�
, who ran on a wacky platform that included a vow to 鈥渃ut your taxes, and raise everyone else鈥檚,鈥� build one affordable home, and nationalize singer Adele, declared himself the “winning candidate of the candidates who bothered to turn up for the results.”
Under the black cape, trash can helmet and ample body armor straight out of a low-budget sci-fi film, Binface鈥檚 alter-ego is Jon Harvey, a middle-aged comedian who spent most of the campaign doing media interviews and trying to stay cool in the costume during a sweltering summer.
Binface has hinted that if Farage faces another election, he could return to run again.
鈥淥ver one in four people in this constituency would rather have Count Binface as their MP than the leader of Reform UK,鈥� Binface said in a video on X. 鈥淪tay tuned for Part 2 of the Clacton by-election.鈥� ___
Melley reported from London.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
