UK vote count under way in Farage, Binface showdown
· RTE.ieVote counting was under way after an unusual English by-election shunned by mainstream parties, pitting influential hard-right leader Nigel Farage against Count Binface, a man with a rubbish bin on his head.
The snap poll, called when Mr Farage resigned last month from parliament amid scrutiny into his finances, was dismissed by some voters in the eastern constituency of Clacton as a "farce".
The main political parties sat out the election, calling it a stunt by Mr Farage to dodge scrutiny, leaving the hard-right Reform UK leader to battle it out with joke candidate Binface, the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey.
The vote count was set to run through the night and results were expected by around 7am this morning, with a record 32 other fringe candidates joining Mr Farage and Count Binface on the ballot paper.
Mr Farage was predicted to easily win the seat he first swept in the 2024 general election, but analysts warned that the joke candidate could get an unprecedented 20% of the vote.
The Reform UK leader already declared victory, telling GB News just after midnight that he had won "fairly convincingly".
"I've managed to beat the establishment candidate," he said in an event at Essex.
"Look, this is an overwhelming endorsement of me. I have had enough of being judged by mainstream media, being called a criminal."
However, some voiced their support for his metallic opponent earlier.
"I think it'll be a close one between Binface and Nigel. I would love to see Binface win," said 23-year-old Michael, who wasn't registered to vote in the area but was hanging around the main town of Clacton-on-Sea as polling day drew to a close.
Even if Mr Farage emerges victorious, experts say his attempt to regain political momentum has backfired.
His "spoof" contender was making him "look rather silly", Queen Mary University of London politics professor Stijn van Kessel told AFP.
Mr Farage announced his surprise resignation on 7 July amid a parliamentary probe into allegations he and Reform's deputy Richard Tice had failed to declare financial gifts.
Both deny any wrongdoing.
'Bin day cometh'
The leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, which topped polls for 18 months but has slipped recently, framed the vote as "the people of Clacton versus the establishment", aimed at thwarting the "stitch-up" over his finances.
"Today my record in public office will be judged by the people of Clacton, not by politicians and the media in Westminster," Mr Farage posted on X as polls opened.
"Bin day cometh," quipped Count Binface, the self-styled "intergalactic space warrior" from the fictional planet Sigma IX.
While experts played down the wider significance of the vote in a constituency that overwhelmingly backed Brexit a decade ago, the by-election has drawn international attention and amusement.
Voters in the coastal community were less enthusiastic, however, with even local Reform supporters dismissing the poll.
"It's a bit ridiculous," party campaigner Jane Embelton told journalists of the long list of fringe candidates running.
"I think it's all to make Nigel Farage look like an idiot, basically. But he doesn't look like an idiot to me or his supporters."
If Mr Farage regains his seat, the investigation into his finances will resume. If he is found to be at fault and suspended, another by-election could be triggered.
"It's a farce," said local voter Paul, in his 50s, who accused mainstream parties of "disrespecting the people of Clacton" by not running candidates.
Financial probes
Mr Farage netted 46% of the vote in the 2024 general election to become an MP on his eighth attempt.
Turnout - nearly 59% then - could be significantly down among the constituency's 80,000 registered voters, given the lack of mainstream party candidates.
The probe into Mr Farage relates to a five-million-pound donation from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
Meanwhile, London police have confirmed they started an investigation last year into donations to Reform before the 2024 election.
UK media have reported that the probe concerns non-declared financial support from longtime Mr Farage ally and convicted fraudster George Cottrell and his mother.
The controversies have coincided with the drop in Reform UK polling support and in popularity for Mr Farage, long a divisive figure loved and loathed in largely equal measure.