Nigel Farage Resigns as MP to Force By-Election in Clacton

Nigel Farage has resigned as a Member of Parliament for Clacton, triggering a by-election.

In a statement, the Brexit veteran — who will stand as a candidate in a surprise race aimed at shoring up his personal support in the seaside town of Clacton — said: “I thought about it hard, and I’ve decided today, I will resign as a member of parliament for Clacton on Sea, thereby forcing a by-election.”

“This will be a people versus the establishment by-election. It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment, to frankly tell them where to go,” he said.

Farage will be Reform UK’s candidate in the special election, expected to take place within weeks. He won the seat with a sizable majority of 8,405 in the 2024 general election.

The move — announced in an emotive press conference in London — comes after weeks of scrutiny of the right-wing populist leader, whose party continues to lead in the national polls.

Farage is currently being investigated by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg over whether he broke House of Commons rules by failing to declare a £5 million donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Farage has repeatedly said he was under no obligation to declare the gift because he received it before he was elected as Clacton MP and it was given in a personal capacity to fund his security.

In a defiant statement, Farage said the publication of a picture of his daughter’s home in a national newspaper had been the “final straw” in his decision to call a by-election.

Farage also defended the right of people in public life to make money.

“We absolutely need successful people from all walks of life — but particularly from business and industry,” he argued. “We need them not just in parliament we need them in government if we are even going to have half a chance of turning around the dire economic state this country.”

Farage said Tuesday he is also being investigated over fresh accusations he failed to declare gifts and donations from crypto entrepreneur George Cottrell. The Sunday Times reported Cottrell, a longstanding friend of Farage, funded the Reform UK leader’s private security, staff, transport, and accommodation in the year before he was elected to the Commons.

The Reform UK leader has denied wrongdoing and insists he followed the rules. He said Tuesday he has done “nothing wrong” and got “good legal advice.” House of Commons standards rules do not seek to regulate what MPs do in their “purely personal lives,” he argued.

Farage’s return to the national political scene in 2024 has rocked both the Conservatives, who have ceded vote share on the right, and the center-left Labour government.

But Farage faces a renewed threat on the right. Rupert Lowe, who leads the hard-right Restore party which is polling in the single-digits but has amassed a vast online following, said Farage is “making a mockery” of the democratic process by triggering a costly by-election.

Lowe — a former Reform UK MP who quit to form his own group — is expected to make an announcement later Tuesday on the party’s plans for the seaside constituency.

Farage’s opponents were quick to paint the by-election gambit as an attempt to duck scrutiny by parliamentary authorities. A spokesperson for Andy Burnham, expected to become Britain’s next prime minister in a few weeks, said: “This is a gimmick designed to distract from serious allegations about Farage’s funders.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “This new stunt is his latest attempt to escape consequences for his biggest grift. We won’t let him.”

The move is unlikely to shelve investigations into Farage. Matthew England of the Hansard Society, a think tank focused on parliamentary procedure, stressed the Commissioner’s probes would not fall away with the MP quitting his seat.

“The Commissioner’s role is to investigate alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct, and the failure to declare an interest within 12 months of an election (even if another election or by-election has taken place since the relevant election) would still be a breach,” he told POLITICO.

England pointed out that House of Commons rules make “express provision for a situation where an investigation has commenced and a Member ceases to be a Member.” It means Farage could still face a rebuke or even a suspension if he wins the by-election and returns to parliament.

This developing story is being updated.