LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage beat trash can-clad comedian Count Binface to win back the Parliament seat he gave up a month ago to trigger the widely mocked special election. Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party who is seen by some as a possible next prime minister, abruptly resigned from his seat in July amid an investigation into whether he failed to report a £5 million ($6.7 million) gift from an overseas crypto billionaire. He said he would run for the vacant seat to show there was voter support and won it back with 63% of the vote on Thursday. Binface, which finished in second place, gained about 27%, according to results announced on Friday. The elections, held on the hottest day of the year so far, had a turnout of 44%. Binface, a serial candidate who has challenged prime ministers past and present, became the default challenger among a field of 34 candidates after the major parties boycotted the campaign as a political stunt by Farage. Farage hailed the result as an “overwhelming victory” with 1,000 more votes than he got when he was first elected two years ago with 46% of the vote. Turnout during the 2024 general election was almost 60% and he faced a stronger field of mainstream candidates. “Today voters in Clacton have raised two fingers to the entire political establishment,” Farage said, referring to the British equivalent of a crude middle finger gesture used in other cultures. Farage’s victory showed his strong support in his conservative electorate on the east coast of England, but does not guarantee he will be able to keep the seat. An investigation by a parliamentary watchdog that was suspended when he resigned is likely to resume and could yet lead to Farage being forced to leave Parliament to face another election. Farage did not appear for the vote count. Farage declared victory early in the morning and did not attend the official declaration, where he would have had to be alongside the other candidates, many of them running joke campaigns. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to go up on stage, having won a resounding victory… and be degraded and humiliated by no one,” Farage told supporters at a victory party. Farage said he did not attend because police told him of an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”. A Reform spokesman said there was a credible threat against him, although police denied this. Binface, who ran on an extravagant platform that included a promise to “cut your taxes and raise everyone else’s,” build an affordable home and nationalize singer Adele, celebrated his best-ever result. It was a massive increase on the votes he received in a special election two months ago against now Prime Minister Andy Burnham, in which he won 95 votes. “So against Nigel Farage, compared to Andy Burnham, I’m 1,000 times more popular,” he joked. “Does that have anything to do with why he’s not here tonight?” Farage still faces an investigation for undeclared donation. Labor Party chair Bridget Phillipson said the election was not a victory for Farage and he needs to come clean about his finances and his relationship with a convicted fraudster. “The mountain of sleaze and scandal in which he and Reform are now embroiled has grown and grown while he has been trying to distract the public by fighting a by-election against a bin,” Phillipson said. “Farage’s by-election distraction doesn’t clear his name; it just shows he probably has a lot more to hide.” Parliament’s standards watchdog is investigating an undeclared donation to Farage in 2024 by Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Farage says he did not need to declare the money because it was a personal gift he used to fund his security and was made before he was elected. Subscribe to Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines. However, newly elected lawmakers must declare gifts worth more than £300 ($400) received in the previous year if they are related to political activities. When he resigned on July 7, he described the scrutiny as an “establishment coup” and a media-driven “witch hunt.” Farage also faces an investigation into his financial relationship with George Cottrell, an aristocratic crypto gaming businessman who served eight months in a US prison for fraud a decade ago after offering to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers. Cottrell, 32, remains close to Farage and has reportedly given him money for security and staff. Farage, who was a major player in getting Britain to vote to leave the European Union a decade ago, has performed well in national polls, although his numbers have fallen during months of scrutiny of his finances. Binface led a group of comedy candidates. Farage’s tactic of resigning and running again backfired when other parties refused to participate and he was left facing a massive field of independent and small-party candidates, including novelty acts such as Howling Laud Hope of the The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White of the Everyone is God Party. Already a joke in the British elections, Binface attracted the most attention due to his satirical spin on politics and his persona as an alien from the planet Sigma IX. By winning at least 5% of the vote, he got a refund of the 500 pound ($675) deposit that candidates pay to run. Beneath the black cape, dumpster helmet, and ample body armor straight out of a low-budget sci-fi movie, Binface’s alter ego is Jon Harvey, a middle-aged comedian who has spent much of the campaign trying to keep his cool during a sweltering summer. He said his repeated candidacies were aimed at promoting the beauty of Britain’s centuries-old democracy, where even the most prominent politicians are above anyone, including someone from outer space.
