Nigel Farage latest: Reform leader insists Count Binface showdown is ‘real’ after by-election ridiculed

Politics writer Athena Stavrou reports:

Robert Jenrick has compared the decision of all major political parties not to stand in the Clacton by election to those calling for a second Brexit referendum.

The Reform UK MP hit out at parties who have called the contest a “farce”, and criticised the call to wait for the outcome of the standards commissioner’s investigation.

“Isn’t it funny that the very people who wanted this are now not prepared to put up and actually test the British public’s views?”

He said on LBC.“It reminds me a bit of the second referendum. All those people who were saying, ‘Ah, well, you know, the people may have spoken, but they got it wrong. They’re too stupid to decide. We need another one.’.

“It’s not good enough. We need to trust the great British public.”

A by-election in the Clacton constituency has been formally triggered, after Nigel Farage resigned his seat in the Commons.

Mr Farage, the Reform UK leader, has said he will try to win back a spot on the green benches.

Lee Anderson, Reform’s chairman, moved the writ.“I beg to move that Mr Speaker do issue his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown to make out a new writ for the electing of a member to serve in this present Parliament for the county constituency of Clacton in the room of Nigel Paul Farage, who since his election for the said county constituency has been appointed to the office of Steward and Bailiff of His Majesty’s Manor of Northstead in the county of York,” he said.

The Newark MP, who unsuccessfully sought to succeed Rishi Sunak as Tory leader in 2024, has since joined Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, where he serves as Treasury spokesman.

The probe into the donation’s origins follows a referral from the Electoral Commission, The i Paper reported.

The money in question is a portion of a £100,000 donation from British entrepreneur Phillip Ullmann, via a company called Spott Fitness, to Mr Jenrick’s leadership campaign.

Count Binface has responded after the BBC asked him to reveal his identity live on air.

During an interview on Newsnight on Wednesday (8 July), Paddy O’Connell asked the satirical candidate to “bin off the bin,” adding: “We know that your name is Jon.”

He declined, saying, “ Has anyone here seen Return of the Jedi? Nobody wants to know what’s underneath a Recyclon.”

Count Binface appears to be Nigel Farage’s main electoral rival in the Clacton by-election, as Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Restore Britain are refusing to put forward candidates.

The satirical party is the creation of comedian Jonathan David Harvey, who stood against then-prime minister Boris Johnson as a candidate in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency at the 2019 general election.

Nigel Farage’s by-election in Clacton is set to be boycotted by most major parties, after the Reform UK leader was accused of using the vote as a distraction.

The Reform UK leader announced he was quitting as an MP as questions mounted over his personal finances.

The Labour Party, the Tories, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Restore Britain have all said they will not stand candidates in the by-election, leaving independent candidates and Count Binface to contest it.

So who is actually running in the election? You can find out below:

A minister said the by-election in Makerfield after an MP stood down to make way for Andy Burnham was “completely and utterly different” to the vote in Clacton triggered by Nigel Farage’s resignation.

It was put to Sir Chris Bryant that some might argue the move was similar to when a by-election was triggered in Makerfield.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Completely and utterly different.”

He added: “Josh Simons stood down in Makerfield because he believed the country needed a change of direction.

“He wasn’t standing himself, it wasn’t some kind of gimmick to try and avoid scrutiny.”

Labour’s leadership race officially begins today – although its winner is close to guaranteed.

Andy Burnham is expected to be the only candidate to put his name forward after former Armed Forces minister Al Carns confirmed he would not run on Wednesday evening.

Any Labour MP who want to put themselves up for the leadership needs to secure the backing of 20 per cent of their colleagues, which is currently 81 MPs.

MPs will fill in a nomination form and deliver it to the Parliamentary Labour Party office in Westminster. Nominations close on Wednesday 15 July at 6pm.

Anyone who has received enough nominations will then need to secure the backing of t least three organisations affiliated with the Labour Party – two of which have to be trade unions – by 6pm Thursday 16 July.

Provided Mr Burnham meets all these requirements, he is expected to become prime minister on Monday 20 July.

The Reform UK leader received the sum from Christopher Harborne in 2024, prior to announcing his decision to stand in the general election and is now being investigated by the Commons standards watchdog.

While he initially said the money was given to pay for his security, he has since described it as a reward for the Brexit campaign and insisted he could spend it on Ferrari cars if he wished to.

You can read the full story below:

The Independent’s political reporter Athena Stavrou writes:

A government minister has said he “wouldn’t bother voting” in the Clacton by election if he lived there

Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant was asked whether he would back Nigel Farage’s only competitor, Count Binface.

“Listen, if I were living in Clacton, I wouldn’t bother voting, and that’s not something I would normally say,” he told the BBC

“But this is, as I say, it’s the worst kind of farce. It’s a farce that hasn’t got any jokes in it at all.”

Asked whether the decision of all major parties to not stand candidates was “indulging in petty politics”, he said: “This is a farce without any jokes in it that Nigel Farage is playing out these next few weeks, and I’m not going to participate in it.”

The Independent’s political reporter Athena Stavrou writes:

A government minister has accused Nigel Farage of “trying to pretend he’s Donald Trump” by calling a by election in Clacton.

Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant said Labour had decided not to stand a candidate after Mr Farage had a “hissy fit” and added: “I just don’t think that we should play along with that game.”

“I know what Nigel Farage is trying to do,” he told Sky News.

“He’s trying to pretend that he’s Donald Trump, and that they’re all out to get me in for me, in for me, all of that kind of stuff.

“I just don’t think it washes with most ordinary members of the public.”