Wedaeli Chibelushi
Live reporter

Image source, Reform UK

Nigel Farage is once again Clacton’s MP after winning the by-election he triggered last month.

Farage won with 63.34% of the vote, increasing his vote share by 17.16 percentage points. Count Binface - the comedic persona played by Jonathan Harvey - came second with 26.9%.

A win for Reform had been widely anticipated as the party enjoys significant support in Clacton and the UK’s main political parties didn’t participate, calling the by-election a political stunt.

Farage framed the election as a "people versus the establishment" showdown, saying the "people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions".

Standards investigation continues

Those comments refer to the scrutiny surrounding whether he should have declared a £5m gift he received from a party donor in 2024 - more details on that here.

Rival parties have said he must still answer to the standards commissioner - whose website said this morning that the investigation has now resumed.

Reform UK's Robert Jenrick told the BBC Farage’s victory should "settle the matter now" as it shows "the overwhelming majority of people strongly support him in full knowledge of the allegations".

Farage doesn't show for election count

Farage wasn’t there to hear himself declared victor, but did address party activists overnight, saying: "I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies."

A party spokesperson said Essex Police had advised against him attending. The BBC understands the police did not advise any candidate that they should not attend.

We're ending our live coverage now, you can read more here:

• Farage's by-election victory won't stop questions about finances
• Farage faces renewed watchdog probe after Clacton by-election victory
• Has the by-election changed things for Clacton?

Paul Seddon
Politics reporter

Image source, Reuters

Opposition parties have been keen to talk up the possibility that voters in Clacton might be asked to do all this again as a result of the now-resumed parliamentary investigation.

But there are several things that would have to happen for another by-election to take place.

The Commons standards committee would first have to decide that Nigel Farage broke the declaration rules, and should be suspended as an MP for more than 10 sitting days. This would then have to be approved by the House of Commons in a vote.

Suspensions of this length are relatively rare – there have only been 13 since the turn of the millennium, according to parliamentary records.

If such a sanction were to be given to Farage, voters in his Clacton seat could then trigger another by-election by signing a recall petition open for six weeks.

More than 7,978 voters in the seat – or 10% of the registered total – would have to back the move for another vote to actually take place.

Paul Seddon
Politics reporter

Parliamentary standards investigations can vary in length. As well as interviewing MPs, the commissioner can ask follow-up questions and seek evidence from witnesses.

A lot can also depend on the circumstances, and how the MP being investigated reacts.

In cases where MPs accept they are at fault, the commissioner can decide to wrap things up himself by asking them to take corrective action and apologise.

This happened with Farage earlier this year, when he accepted he had failed to register 17 financial interests, including payments from GB News and the Cameo app, within the 28-day limit.

In that case, Farage requested an in-person meeting with the commissioner to explain why the declarations hadn’t been made. The investigation took around 10 weeks in total.

In circumstances where the commissioner decides that the rules have been breached, he can also refer cases to the 14-member Commons standards committee.

This step, typically reserved for more serious cases, opens up the possibility of more severe sanctions, including possible suspension from the Commons.

But it also means that investigations take longer, because the committee has to meet to discuss the case and can make fresh requests for evidence.

Read our political correspondent Joe Pike's analysis: Farage's by-election victory won't stop questions about finances

Joe Pike
Political correspondent

Nigel Farage seemed upbeat and defiant at his overnight rally, telling a crowd of cheering supporters that they had succeeded in sticking "two fingers up to the entire political establishment".

But his decisions to avoid the results announcement of the by-election he triggered, and to cancel a daytime speech and news conference, don't suggest a victor brimming with energy.

Some in his party think those decisions were partly due tiredness after a long - if successful - campaign.

Others point to security concerns, and the possibility that some of the more eccentric of the other record-breaking 33 candidates might have disrupted Farage's moment of victory.

Coming in second, Count Binface records his best-ever resultpublished at 11:40 BST

11:40 BST

Image source, PA Media

By Rob England

Count Binface has recorded his best result in a UK parliamentary election, finishing second with 26.9% of the valid vote.

The satirical candidate polled 9,455 votes, setting a personal record for both his vote total and vote share across five parliamentary contests.

The result means his £500 election deposit will be returned for the first time after he won more than 5% of valid votes.

His previous best parliamentary result came at the 2024 general election, when he stood against then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Richmond and Northallerton and received 308 votes, or 0.63%.

Binface polled more votes than in Clacton in both of his London mayoral campaigns, receiving 24,775 first-preference votes in 2021 and 24,260 votes in 2024.

But he secured just under 1% of valid votes each time, meaning he lost the £10,000 deposit required for the mayoral election twice.

Jon Harvey, the performer behind Count Binface, also stood against then Prime Minister Theresa May in Maidenhead at the 2017 general election campaign under the name Lord Buckethead. He didn’t get his deposit returned then either, after receiving 249 votes - or 0.4%.

Image source, Reuters

Retiree Rick Tracey thinks the by-election has made "a complete and utter farce of our democracy".

"I am heartbroken," he tells Reuters.

"I am hoping that Mr Farage is held to account for the allegations against him. I hope that the democratic process is followed through."

As we reported earlier, the parliamentary investigation into whether Nigel Farage should have declared a £5m gift has resumed following his re-election to the Commons.

For Jamie Stanley, the result isn’t what mattered.

"We all saw it coming," the 30-year-old tells BBC Newsbeat. He is one of the 9,455 people who voted for Count Binface.

"It wasn’t really about beating [Farage], it was always just to show he can be upset by a man with a bin on his head.

"It was just to play my part and add to the numbers. The fact that he got any votes at all shows more about [Farage] than it does about Binface."

Image source, Reuters

George Charalambous, 61, tells Reuters he thinks the right person won.

"Let's hope he behaves himself, and, hopefully, he’ll do good for Clacton.

"Don’t forget he's only been here two years. He's not a miracle worker,” Charalambous says.

Image source, Reuters

Meanwhile Carole Nash says she's "absolutely delighted" Farage won.

The 61-year-old tells Reuters: "I knew he would [win]. I voted for him, actually. First thing yesterday morning."

Image source, PA Media

Reform UK's Richard Tice has hit out at those questioning why Nigel Farage decided not to attend the count for his by-election win, and suggested it followed a "judgment" by the party leader's security team.

Writing on social media, Reform's deputy leader says: "Last week Met Police & Counter Terrorism had to admit they messed up over an alleged firebombing at Nigel’s home last year."

He then criticises the "bleating & questioning" that met "the judgment of Nigel’s security team on whether to attend count or not".

Earlier, Reform UK said Essex Police advised Farage not to attend the count in Clacton, but the BBC understands this is not the case.

For context: Tice is referencing Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London's decision to reopen an investigation into a reported incident at Farage's London home last year, when what Farage described as a "lit incendiary device" was allegedly pushed through his letterbox. CTP London has also referred itself to the police watchdog over how the initial investigation was handled.

Nigel Farage's victory in the Clacton by-election was a "farce" conducted to "dodge scrutiny", a Conservative spokesperson says in response to this morning's result.

"Without any serious opponent in this pointless by-election, Farage has barely increased his overall vote total, secured fewer votes than the Conservative Giles Watling did in 2019, and had to invent absurd reasons to avoid being humiliated at his own vote count," the spokesperson says.

Now, the Conservatives say, Farage should respond to "serious outstanding questions" about the £5m he received from the Thailand-based crypto-billionaire and Reform donor Christopher Harborne.

The Tories refused to run a candidate in Thursday's by-election. Leader Kemi Badenoch previously said she would "put forward a serious candidate" to run there if a Parliamentary standards investigation leads to another by-election.

Farage has denied breaking any rules in relation to his finances. For more detail read our political correspondent Joe Pike's analysis: Farage's by-election victory won't stop questions about finances.

The "electoral world has changed in important ways" since Farage called this by-election, polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice says.

"In the immediate wake of the decision... support for Reform did noticeably fall in the national polls, from around just under 27% to about 24%, which is where it still is this morning,” he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Things have shifted primarily "because of the replacement of Keir Starmer by Andy Burnham. Labour have enjoyed a so-called Burnham bounce", he says.

"Labour are currently narrowly ahead of Reform in the polls and, meanwhile, the Conservatives now find themselves four points adrift."

Farage faces "quite a substantial political challenge" in trying to get Reform support back up so that it is "back in the lead in the polls, and that there is still clear blue water between Reform and the Conservatives", he says.

The voter turnout was "quite healthy" by the standards of modern by-elections, polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Westminster's other main political parties didn't run in the by-election, and Farage won with 63.34% - a 17.16 percentage point increase on his 2024 General Election performance.

"The argument that was being used by Farage’s opponents is this was a stunt, it was a farce," Curtice says.

But he says Reform will be able to point to the turnout of just over 44%, which he says is 10 points above the closest comparable by-election involving a prominent figure running when the other main parties boycotted, the by-election triggered and then won by David Davis in 2008.

The turnout was also "not much below what it was in either Runcorn or Gorton and Denton in the by-elections there, and it was actually higher than the two parliamentary by-elections in Scotland recently", Curtice says.

Farage chose to fight this by-election and then didn't show when he won - why?published at 09:36 BST

09:36 BST

Chris Mason
Political editor, in Clacton

Good morning from Clacton, where I’m indulging in an entirely typical pursuit of an August summer’s day, which is to come to the seaside.

But my intention was to come here and listen to a speech from the victorious Nigel Farage and talk to him.

But neither of those things are going to happen; that speech has been cancelled and there’s no sight nor sound of Nigel Farage this morning.

He didn’t turn up to his own political wedding, the declaration of his moment of victory, citing the potential for disruption.

What are we to take from all of this? Well, Farage has sought to get ahead of and take control of a situation he wasn’t in control of - the ongoing investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner.

That has now resumed, but I think the strategy from Reform was to volunteer to have a by-election in order to be seen to take control of a process.

If there is a process that means there ends up being the potential for another by-election, the way that would happen is by what’s called a recall petition.

That requires people in the constituency to demand a by-election and maybe Reform will hope there isn’t that demand from people here if they feel they’ve been through the process already.

That may or may not be the case, there’s lots of hypotheticals down the track.

But I think that was their strategy in volunteering for this by-election rather than it being forced upon them.

The bigger picture context is that Reform is under pressure at the moment because of this bounce that Labour and Andy Burnham are having - let’s see how long-lasting or not that is as we head into the political autumn.

Image source, Getty Images

Farage triggered the Clacton by-election by standing down as the constituency's MP.

That surprise announcement followed a series of media reports about a £5m donation to the Reform UK leader. Here's a brief overview:

• April 2024: Farage receives a £5m gift from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based British cryptocurrency investor
• July 2024: Having initially said he would not stand for election, Farage wins a seat in Parliament as MP for Clacton
• May 2026: Parliament's standards commissioner launches an investigation into whether Farage broke Commons rules by accepting the £5m gift and not declaring it
• 4 July 2026: The Sunday Times reports Farage's longstanding ally George Cottrell - who was convicted of wire fraud in the US in 2017 - paid for his staff and security before the 2024 general election
• 7 July 2026: Farage resigns as an MP but says he will stand for re-election in the resultant by-election, suspending the standards investigation. The Reform leader says the "people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions", insisting he has done nothing wrong because the donations were not political and were made before he was an MP
• Today: Farage is declared the winner of the Clacton by-election - Parliament's standards commissioner confirms their investigation is no longer suspended

Read political correspondent Joe Pike's analysis: Farage's by-election victory won't stop questions about finances

Paul Seddon
Politics reporter

Farage’s decision last month to trigger the by-election paused the parliamentary investigation into whether he should have declared £5m he previously received from a party donor upon his election as an MP in 2024.

Farage has argued that the sum did not require declaration, as it was given to him as a personal gift.

This morning, the website of Parliament’s standards commissioner has been updated to confirm that the probe is no longer suspended.

However, the timings for what happens next is unclear. Parliament is not due to return from its summer recess until next month.

MPs under investigation typically have to respond to written questions from the commissioner, and can be asked to attend a formal interview.

The commissioner does not tend to confirm when or if this has happened.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's how the night played out as Nigel Farage's return to Parliament was confirmed - though the Reform UK leader wasn't there to see it:

Thursday, 22:00 Polls close in Clacton, with the first ballot boxes arriving at Clacton Leisure Centre by 22:15

Friday, 00:42 Farage tells GB News he has won the by-election "fairly convincingly" at an event dubbed "Farage Fest" for his supporters in Essex

02:00 The turnout for Thursday's vote is confirmed at 44.37% - higher than some other recent by-elections, but lower than Andy Burnham's win in Makerfield

03:00 Farage says he will not attend the count, saying: "I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies." He says Essex Police told him about an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result"

03:35 A Reform UK spokesperson says Essex Police advised Farage not to attend the count "due to a credible threat against him"

05:13 The BBC reports that it understands Essex Police did not advise any candidate that they should not attend, and the force says it has a "robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants"

06:04 Nigel Farage's return to Parliament is confirmed as he secures 22,239 votes and wins the contest

06:36 After reportedly cancelling an expected mid-morning speech, Farage writes on social media: "The result in Clacton speaks for itself"

Image source, PA Media

Essex Police say there were no "incidents or issues" regarding the Clacton by-election on Thursday and overnight.

Nigel Farage opted against appearing at the vote count at Clacton Leisure Centre as Reform UK said Essex Police had advised the leader there was a "credible threat" against him.

The BBC understands Essex Police did not advise any candidate not to attend.

A spokesperson for the force says "there were no incidents or issues throughout yesterday and into the early hours of this morning".

It says there was "a full and robust policing operation in place around the Clacton by-election", and it takes the safety and security of elected officials "extremely seriously".

"The decision of candidates to attend or not attend the election count is a decision for individuals and their security teams, our role is to make sure our policing operation is sufficiently robust to ensure the safety of all," the spokesperson says.

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, Nigel Farage secured 22,239 votes to secure his victory in Clacton's by-election.

This puts his share of the vote at 63.34%, an increase of 17.16 percentage points on his initial election victory in 2024.

This time, though, Farage was not opposed by any of the major political parties.

Aside from Farage only one other candidate - Count Binface, who secured 26.93% - got more than 2% of the vote share.

Image source, House of Commons

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokeswoman Lisa Smart has called for investigations into Nigel Farage's financial affairs must "crack on" after his return to Parliament was confirmed by his by-election victory.

Farage had been facing scrutiny over his finances before he triggered the by-election - our earlier post has the details.

"Triggering a vanity by-election was a blatant attempt to dodge being held to account," Smart says.

"A sitting MP under investigation should never be able to weaponise a by-election into a taxpayer-funded attempt to escape scrutiny.”

Farage denies that there has been any wrongdoing.

A comfortable, but not crushing win - and few lessons to draw about the national picturepublished at 07:29 BST

07:29 BST

Harry Farley
Reporting from Clacton

Image source, Getty Images

In the end it was a comfortable end to a surreal election night.

Nigel Farage won 63.3% of the vote. That’s a greater share - and more votes - than he won two years ago in the General Election. That fact is something being seized upon by Reform UK sources to argue it vindicates the decision to trigger this by-election.

But that vote share is lower than the 71% won by David Davis in the closest comparable by-election we have when Davis triggered a ballot which the other main parties boycotted.

So it was comfortable but not crushing.

Now Farage will return to parliament. That means the independent investigation resumes into whether he broke the rules by not declaring a £5m gift before he was elected.

Reform UK argue he's done nothing wrong and this result sends a message that voters don’t care. But the reality is there aren’t many lessons we can draw from this result in this particular corner of Essex for Farage's standing in the country as a whole.