The ultra Nigel Farage revalidates the seat in Westminster after defeating the comedian Bin Face

LondonThe ultra Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party, regained this Friday morning the seat for the Clacton-on-sea district – southeast England – in the by-elections held yesterday Thursday and called as a result of the his own resignation, in early July. Farage had turned the countess into a plebiscite between his figure and the Westminster establishment. In objective terms, Farage has achieved a solid victory (22,239 votes, 63.34%), just over a thousand more ballots than in the 2024 general election, with lower turnout now (44.37% compared to 58.7% two years ago).

However, the traditional parties refused to participate in the electoral race, in the face of what they considered an attempt to divert attention from the investigation opened by Parliament into a donation of five million pounds that Farage received from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. The investigation will resume once Parliament returns to session in September.

Contrary to what is usual, Farage has not attended the official announcement of the results due to what party sources have denounced as a "credible threat" against his physical integrity, which the Essex police would have communicated to them. However, sources from the police force have denied this version.

The controversial MP has limited himself to celebrating the early morning victory at an event with his supporters, dubbed Farage-Fest. Once the results were read out, the now-elected MP limited himself to posting a photograph of himself taken during the celebration on X and a single sentence: "The Clacton result speaks for itself".

Boycott by the main parties

In any case, Thursday's election was one of the most unusual in recent British politics, with a counterpoint that is difficult to ignore: The boycott, by the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties among others, has meant that their closest rival was the satirical candidate Count Binface who, usually disguised as an astronaut with a trash can on his head (that is, Binface), has achieved 9,455 votes, 26.93% of the total. Extraordinary figures that can be read as a protest against Farage, considering that in the previous different by-elections in which Binface had participated, he had never exceeded 320 votes.

The withdrawal of the major parties left the field open for a victory by Farage in a traditionally Brexiter constituency, facing a mosaic of 34 candidates, the highest number ever registered in a constituency for a British parliamentary election. In addition to Binface, there were several independent candidates and other prominent far-right figures. And while the result is overwhelming in percentage terms, it is less impressive in absolute numbers of votes.

All of this allows for a more nuanced reading of the Reform Party leader's victory. Farage retains a solid base in Clacton, a coastal district in Essex that became one of his main strongholds following Brexit. But the high proportion of votes for Binface also shows that a considerable part of the electorate has turned the election into a protest, a joke, or both at the same time. Behind the character of Count Binface is the screenwriter and comedian Jonathan David Harvey.