Nigel Farage has held on to Clacton for Reform UK in a by-election decided in the early hours, as competing accounts emerged over whether police warned him away from the count because of a “credible threat”.
Mr Farage won with 22,239 votes, with Count Binface in second place on 9,455 votes. Mr Farage secured a 12,784 majority, 62.82% of the vote.
The new majority represents a clear lift from the 8,405 margin he recorded at the 2024 general election, when he took 46.2%. The result was declared shortly after 6am.
Turnout was 44.37%, down by just over 14%.
A total of 32 of the record-34 candidates lost their deposit.
Count Binface reacts after the declaration for the Clacton by-election
Count Binface claimed a different kind of victory after the declaration, saying he was “the winning candidate of the candidates who bothered to turn up for the results” and arguing the outcome had “humiliated” Mr Farage.
The candidate said in a video posted on X: “I can officially say that I am the winning candidate of the candidates who bothered to turn up for the results.
“That’s right, 9,455 actual votes. Just eight weeks ago in Makerfield, I got 95.
“That means I’ve got against Nigel Farage 10,000% more votes than I got against Andy Burnham. What does that tell you?
I came first in the Clacton by-election! Of the candidates who bothered to turn up for the results. Here is my victory speech! pic.twitter.com/PBaLO10P2j
— Count Binface (@CountBinface) August 14, 2026
“Well, it tells you that Nigel, who said that he didn’t want to be humiliated, maybe has been.
“As for me, I’m over the moon. I’m over your moon. I’m over my moons. And what comes next? Well, we shall see.
“But you know what? We know this for a fact. Over one in four people in this constituency would rather have Count Binface as their MP than the leader of Reform UK, and I’m just getting started.”
Mr Farage had already told supporters he had won “fairly convincingly”, describing the by-election as an “overwhelming endorsement” of him, before the official declaration.
Despite the victory, Mr Farage said he would not be present at Clacton Leisure Centre for the formal declaration, claiming Essex Police had warned him of an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”.
A Reform UK spokesperson later said: “Essex Police advised Nigel not to attend the count… due to a credible threat against him.”
However, the Press Association understands Essex Police did not tell Mr Farage, or any other candidate, not to attend the count.
A spokesperson for Essex Police said: “We have a proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count.”
The spokesperson said that the count “took place without issue” and that there were “no incidents or issues throughout yesterday and into the early hours of this morning”.
Counting is under way in the by-election
Mr Farage made his decision public during an all-night “Farage-fest” event organised by Reform in Essex, telling supporters he would stay away from the count.
“I’m not scared of these people, far from it.
“But I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for, and you’ve tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies, and I will not sadly be attending the count.”
Watch: Nigel Farage tells supporters he won’t attend the count declaration
Mr Farage was scheduled to deliver what had been billed as a “major speech” in Clacton at 10.30am, but Reform called it off, saying he had “already commented on the expected result of the by-election”.
In remarks delivered hours before the official announcement, Mr Farage said: “The verdict is now in, and it is a convincing, overwhelming win with more votes than we got in the general election of 2024.”
He earlier told GB News: “Look, this is an overwhelming endorsement of me. I have had enough of being judged by mainstream media, being called a criminal.
“Do you know, if I made one sin, if I haven’t filled in a piece of paper, I’ve broken no law, I’ve broken no tax law, I’ve taken no public money, I don’t even own a motorhome.”
In a post on X this morning, he wrote: “The result in Clacton speaks for itself.”
The result in Clacton speaks for itself. pic.twitter.com/iQeaYxT35J
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) August 14, 2026
Ian Davidson, the council’s acting returning officer and chief executive, said he only learned Mr Farage would not attend when the Reform leader announced it to supporters.
“It is up to individual candidates’ wish to or do not wish to attend the count, but as far as we’re concerned we will be able to complete this count successfully and safely for all the candidates, my staff here and all the visitors,” Mr Davidson said.
“I am not aware of what has been said, or what that threat is.”
Mr Davidson said Essex Police had assigned an assistant chief constable as part of a “Gold Command” policing operation.
He said he did not believe there was any threat serious enough for the count to be called off, but that he could not comment further on security matters.
The by-election was triggered by Mr Farage’s resignation over scrutiny of donations from cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne. Labour and the Conservatives said his victory would not draw a line under the controversy.
A total of 32 of the record-34 candidates lost their deposit following the by-election result
The contest drew a record 34 candidates. With other mainstream parties choosing not to run, satirical candidate Count Binface emerged as Mr Farage’s main challenger.
Speaking to Sky News, Count Binface — a character created by comedian Jonathan David Harvey — raised the prospect of a second trip to the polls in Clacton if Mr Farage is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.
He said: “You just said at the beginning of this interview that Nigel Farage is claiming victory, but in that case it’s going to be a two-legged match like the Carabao Cup or the Cold War, because we’re going to be back again in a few weeks aren’t we? We’ll see what happens then.”
He added: “Even if I got to 12%, so one-in-eight people in Clacton would rather vote for a space warrior shaped like a bin than Nigel Farage.”
Before stepping down from Westminster, Mr Farage was being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg over a £5 million gift from Mr Harborne, which he received before taking his seat in the Commons.
Commons rules require new MPs to register gifts worth more than £300 received in the previous 12 months, unless the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.
The inquiry was paused when Mr Farage resigned but has since resumed.
Mr Farage could also face an investigation over support provided by George Cottrell, a long-term ally.
If he is found to have broken the rules and receives a suspension of more than 10 days, a recall petition could be triggered — raising the prospect of Mr Farage being forced into a second by-election.
Read more: Clacton on the map ‘for all the wrong reasons’
