Farage had been facing scrutiny of his finances before the decision to trigger a by-election published at 23:51 BST23:51 BST Nigel Farage’s decision to resign as an MP and trigger a by-election in Clacton came as he faced increasing scrutiny over his finances and a parliamentary inquiry. In early 2024, he received a gift of £5 million from billionaire cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne. Farage has argued that he did not need to declare the gift because he received it before being elected MP for Clacton in the summer of 2024. Image source, ReutersBut Labor and other rival parties believe Farage has questions to answer about it. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner announced an investigation into whether he breached the House of Commons code of conduct, which states that new MPs “must register all their current financial interests and any recordable benefits (other than income) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election.” [about the motive of the giver or the gift’s use] the benefit must be recorded.” The process was suspended when he withdrew and forced a by-election. Speaking to the BBC in June, Farage said the £5m was “an unconditional gift, I can spend it on cars if I want”, and went on to say the money was for his personal security.
