Labour, Tories, the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Restore Britain are all boycotting the by-election in Clacton triggered by Nigel Farage’s resigning, branding his announcement a gimmick and a stunt.
Political opponents accused the Reform UK leader of using a distraction technique as he faces questions over donations he has received.
Insisting he had done nothing wrong, the Reform UK leader said he would be fighting the by-election, giving voters a chance to “stick two fingers up to the establishment”.
A spokesperson for would-be PM Andy Burnham said: “This is a gimmick designed to distract from serious allegations about Farage’s funders.”
Sir Keir Starmer branded the move “a desperate stunt”, adding: “It’s obvious why he’s doing it – he is up to his neck in sleaze.”
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey called for all parties to boycott the by-election and for the government to block Mr Farage’s resignation until the Standards Commissioner finishes investigating him.
It has been reported that convicted criminal George Cottrell provided Mr Farage with funding for security and staffing before he was elected.
Mr Farage was already being investigated by the standards commissioner over a £5m gift he received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.
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Watch: We fact checked Nigel Farage’s resignation speech
Joe Middleton7 July 2026 23:07
Farage offers to pay for by-election
By-elections cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds, official figures show.
But in an effort to forestall criticism, Nigel Farage said Reform was offering to pay for the vote.
However, the move is unlikely to be legal, given that the party will contest the by-election – although with political opponents boycotting the by-election, it’s unclear whether it will even go ahead.
Jane Dalton7 July 2026 21:20
Polling expert John Curtice predicts Farage landslide win
Even though all the main parties are boycotting the Clacton by-election, it’s too late for the poll to be cancelled, and Nigel Farage is likely to win by a huge majority, according to elections expert Sir John Curtice.
Technically an MP cannot resign but must make themselves ineligible to be an MP by being appointed by the Treasury as a steward of the Chiltern Hundreds.
Prof Curtice told The Independent that once the Speaker has moved the writ for a by-election, the returning officer had to go ahead with the election.
“He’s no longer an MP, but he wants to get back into the Commons, so he has to stand,” he said.
“So he he can’t pull out now, he can’t cancel his resignation.”
Prof Curtice said the by-election would mirror that of David Davis in 2008, which became a “damp squib” because only minor candidates stood and Mr Davis won 72 per cent of the vote.
Jane Dalton7 July 2026 20:56
Analysis: The shadow of David Davis’s failed by-election hangs over Farage’s desperate ploy
By political editor David Maddox:
It may not be a complete coincidence that one of Kemi Badenoch’s most senior advisers worked for David Davis in 2008 when he called a by-election – and she has now decided not to stand a candidate against Nigel Farage.
Timothy Smith, an Australian who would go on to be a Victoria state parliamentarian and who is now a senior Tory adviser, was in the room when David Davis called a by-election in protest over Tony Blair’s anti-terrorism policy.
While Mr Smith is coy about what happened, the political stunt by Mr Davis fizzled out quickly because nobody would stand against him.
He called a by-election in his Haltemprice and Howden constituency in protest at Mr Blair’s plans to introduce 42 days of being able to hold terror suspects in detention without being charged. He saw it as a major infringement of civil liberties.
In calling the by-election, he had to resign from the Tory front bench as shadow home secretary but then the idea of a debate failed to catch fire when nobody serious stood against him and he essentially was a lone candidate against people like the Monster Raving Looney Party candidate.
Ms Badenoch has now decided to take the same approach to Mr Farage’s “fake by-election”, as have Labour and the Lib Dems.
It will be Farage versus Count Binface. It means Mr Farage’s hopes of getting a mandate to justify himself over questions around his personal finances and political friendships will come to nothing, just as Mr Davis’s hopes of creating a debate in 2008 also failed.
We may soon revisit the entire question if another by-election is called as a result of Mr Farage being found guilty of impropriety if that ends up being the conclusion of the parliamentary standards investigation.
Jane Dalton7 July 2026 20:45
Watch: Farage releases CCTV claiming to show Sky reporter at daughter’s home
Jane Dalton7 July 2026 20:15
Union chief blames Labour failures for rise of Reform
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This latest distraction from the everyday issues real people are facing will have workers and communities holding their head in their hands.
“Everyday people are hurting and this latest pantomime does nothing to ease their pain.
“Nigel Farage is certainly no friend of the working class. A privately educated former banker who moved from trading in the City to trading in fear.
“The rise of Reform and Restore is down to the non-delivery of Labour.
“It is now time for Labour to deliver. This latest diversion must not distract from that.”
Jane Dalton7 July 2026 19:45
Farage could face Greens, independents and Binface
After Labour, the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Restore Britain said they would boycott the by-election, it seems Mr Farage’s only opponents could be the Greens, Count Binface and any independent candidates.
A Green Party spokesman said it was a decision for local members in Clacton whether to put up a candidate “but we are a political party – we contest elections”.
Count Binface – who stands in elections to mock the political system – has appealed for residents in the constituency to nominate him.
Jane Dalton7 July 2026 19:39
