Clacton by-election live: Polls to close within hours in Nigel Farage’s battle with Count Binface to retain seat

Before quitting Westminster, Nigel Farage was being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg over a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne, which he received before taking his seat in the Commons.

Under Commons rules, new MPs are required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.

That investigation was paused when Mr Farage resigned his seat but will resume if he wins the by-election – as bookmakers have made him the firm favourite to do.

Mr Farage could also face an investigation over support provided by George Cottrell, a long-term ally.

Mr Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid three staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace.

A quaint village in Oxfordshire has staged a referendum where they have voted to leave the United Kingdom – over concerns about a nearby military site being used to house asylum seekers.

The Home Office is considering using the Bicester barracks to house 1,250 people, but this has been met with fierce opposition from the 350 local residents of Piddington.

A Reform councillor has been suspended after resurfaced social media posts appeared to show him calling for the Commons speaker to be hanged.

In another post, which has not yet been deleted, the account also made homophobic comments, having said he doesn’t believe “gays should have kids full stop”.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Cllr Rowan has been suspended from Reform UK pending investigation.”

Katie Rosseinsky takes a look at the man behind the mask:

Here are all 34 candidates:

• Joseph 77 (Independent)
• Adham Alkhatip (The Forward Party)
• Count Binface (Count Binface Party)
• Nick The Incredible Flying Brick (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party)
• Tony Cane (Independent)
• Woke Trump Carrzee (Independent)
• William Stuart James Clouston (Social Democratic Party)
• Rees Cowne (Independent)
• Glenn Charles Cummings (Independent)
• Martin Davies (Freedom Alliance – Real People, Real Alternative!)
• Andy Erlam (Independent)
• Nigel Farage (Reform UK)
• Attieh Fard (Independent)
• Laurence Fox (The Reclaim Party)
• Tony Francis (Independent)
• Robin Green (Independent)
• Abi Hookway (Independent)
• Howling Laud Hope (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party)
• Stephen Richard Ingram (Independent)
• Amy Morris (Independent)
• Derrick Norbert Morris (Independent)
• Michael Noel O’Keeffe (Independent)
• Martyn OBrien (Independent)
• Nick Pelas (Independent)
• Ketankumar Pipaliya (UK VOICE safer and stronger UK)
• Daniel Pocock (Independent)
• James Ransley (Consensus Party Candidate)
• Gerry Smith (Independent)
• Kai Stephens (British Democrats)
• John Stevens (Rejoin EU)
• Baron Von Thunderclap (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party)
• Pamela Walford (Independent)
• Marcus White (Everyone is God Party)
• Marc Wilkinson (Independent)

The result is expected to be announced in the early hours of Friday.

Andy Burnham should introduce a ‘pensions sacrifice OBE’ which would allow wealthy pensioners to opt out of their state pension for at least three years in return for an honour, a Labour Party pressure group allied with the prime minister has recommended.

Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to governing “doesn’t necessarily work in politics”, a cabinet minister has suggested.

Addressing the No 10 setup during her former boss’s premiership, Yvette Cooper suggested that new prime minister Andy Burnham is better equipped for “a world of social media”.

Sir Keir stepped down as prime minister last month, promising his “full support” to Mr Burnham.

Under Sir Keir’s tenure in Downing Street, Ms Cooper held posts in the cabinet as home secretary and subsequently foreign secretary.